Midnight Gold, The Rise Of The Forgotten Lord
by InheritanceConfessor2011
Summary: The chronicles of the rise of Lord Harry James Potter and his battle to rebuild the Potter family to its former glory, while working to prove himself worthy of the Potter name and its ancient legacy. Neville is true B-W-L, Rated M for mature themes, No slash. Chapters 17 to 19 currently being REVISED DUE TO GRAMMAR AND SPELLING ISSUES. Chapter 43 reposted
1. Y1 Gold Coins

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure Let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord - Chapter 1: Gold Coins<strong>

**Originally posted Dec 30th 2011**

**Revised ****by ****BuckeyeForLife**** on ****19****th**** Sep. 2012** **(New Edition)**

Harry James Potter looked around his tiny bedroom, frantic for a second, before realizing where he was. It had just been a dream, more like a nightmare really. Placing his hands on his face, as he took several slow deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves, and to help settle his roaring emotions, he sighed with a mixture of tiredness and despair at the situation. He always had the same reoccurring dream after suffering a beating from his uncle. It always set his pulse racing; it felt so real, so powerful in its haunting nature.

Harry opened the door to his cupboard, before looking out to see it was still dark outside. Looking over in the direction of the grandfather clock, to check the time, and too find out how long he had until he had to get up and start on breakfast. The clock hands indicated it had just gone past midnight, which made him smile. Being careful not to wake his relatives, and faintly whispering, "Happy Birthday to Me..." He was 11 now, so only another five more years of his hell hole until he could escape.

He hated his family with a passion; he hated the unfairness of his life. The only escape he had for these feelings was the books at his local library, and his mind. It was his only sanctuary from the hardships he endured, and the unfairness.

Moving back into his cupboard, causing his shoulders to protested at the sudden movement, triggering a wave of minor aches and pains across his back in response, which he ignored. Once again letting a tired sigh escape him, as he got back into his make shift bed, which happened to be an old battered sleeping bag, along with some old sheets he'd been able to save from being thrown out, to help keep him warm during long winter nights so he wouldn't freeze to death.

His body was still aching from his uncle's belt as he tried to make himself comfortable, without resting on his aching back. He had developed a tolerance to pain over the years, but there was only so much one could ignore. If anyone had examined his body, they would have seen it was covered with scars from all the beatings he had received. But his uncle had taken it as a personal challenge to make him beg, to beg him to stop the beating. Whilst his Aunt watched on, as if it was a perverted show for her entertainment, with wine glass in hand, drinking away.

What was worse was after they were done beating him raw, they would just dump him back into cupboard or leave him bleeding on the floor. They would then retreat back into their bedroom and have sex if he guessed correctly. Based on the animal like groans, moans, and grunts he'd heard coming from the floor above, in the direction of their bedroom.

Not that he had ever bothered to check his theory, since he was often not in any state to make his way up the stairs. The sounds alone were evidence enough to suggest their activities, as well the morning after duties, when he had to often clean up their room. It was so degrading, having to clean up after such filth, after such pigs, it just made him so angry, before he would remember the vow he'd made to himself each year.

"I swear someday I will have my revenge." It was the same promise he made to himself every birthday, since he had grown old enough to understand his mistreatment at his guardian's hands. It was the vow he made whenever thinking of beatings that he had endured; it was a promise that helped him to keep going.

Closing his eyes, and taking several deep breaths, he tried to relax. However, out of the corner of his eye he noticed a flash, a glint of gold coloured metal, which instantly triggered his interest, recalling how his cousin had set him up by stashing one of his Aunt's necklaces in his cupboard, then ratted him out. He would get his cousin back, that beating had left the biggest scar, suppressing his rising anger at the memory he reached out towards the gold object. It seemed to call to him, pulsing in darkness, calling to him to touch it.

Grasping it with his hand, he felt something engraved on the heavy object. Bringing it to his eye to look at it better, he saw it had a faint symbol of a dragon with the letters beneath it spelling out 'Gringotts Bank'.

Harry didn't recognize the name, nor the symbol on the coin. The only banks he could recall were NatWest and HSBC. Then again, what type of bank still uses gold nowadays? Looking back at the coin, and the unique dragon engraved on, he felt compelled to read it aloud, "Gringotts Bank?"

He felt a pulling sensation on his body. Blinking his eyes rapidly to take in the rapid movement around him that looked like a vortex, he tried to let go of the coin, but he couldn't. He tried to wake himself up, thinking that it had to be a dream.

Next thing he knew he was on floor; it was clear white floor, made of marble. The aches in his back burned as he pushed himself upright, climbing to his feet. Noticing the same odd dragon symbol as the gold coin in his hand on the marble floor caused him to start examining the room.

"Good Evening Mr. Potter, we have much to discuss," said an unknown voice, coming from behind him.

Turning to face the direction from which he had heard the voice, his heart started pounding instantly at the sight of the non-human individual, encased in black plate amour trimmed with gold.

"Please remain calm Mr. Potter, you're at Gringotts Bank, and all shall be explained to you in time," said the creature before him, causing him to blink several times, confirming what he was seeing.

Looking at individual or creature before him, he couldn't help but ask, fear lacing his voice, "What are you?"

A sneer appeared on the creature's face, before disappearing quickly as the creature schooled his features. His voice tinted with a hint of anger, looking him straight in the eye, "Mr. Potter, my name is Bloodmoon. I am your account manager, and you are currently at the Goblin bank called Gringotts, near central London. We provide banking services for magical Britain."

His mind starting running at max speed, trying to process what he was being told, trying to make sense of the information he'd been giving. 'Account manager? Goblin? Magical Britain?' the logical part of him rebelled at idea of magic, his aunt and uncle always said magic wasn't real. Plus he was man of science and math, but it made sense, he could feel it in his gut, in his core. Thinking over everything in his short life, he could remember strange things happening around him whenever he was mad or upset, like the TV going up in flames. Or the cupboard door unlocking, allowing him to get some food during the night.

Looking back at the creature, no he corrected himself, Goblin in front of him, watching him closely caused his heart to start pounding a hundred beats per minute, as he spoke the forbidden word aloud, "Magic? Or have I finally gone mad."

"No Mr. Potter, you're not mad, magic is indeed real," Bloodmoon answered patiently, whilst walking towards the table now at the centre of the room. This table had two silver goblets and a jug of water on it, before pouring a glass of water, prior to making his way back over to him and forcing the cup into his hand.

"Please drink this Mr. Potter, it is water, it will help calm your nerves, so I can begin to fill you in. I was informed you are currently living in a non-magical household with your Aunt. We were led to believe that she had knowledge of our world, and would have informed you of being wizard, and about your heritage," his account manager stated, before walking back to desk, looking back at him.

"Please take a seat," he said in a commanding tone.

Nodding quickly, recognizing the tone of voice, before making his way over to the offered seat as he thought over what Bloodmoon had just said about his Aunt, and that she knew of magic. This resulted in him looking quickly back at the goblin waiting for him, so he could continue on in his explanation, since he was getting the feeling that Bloodmoon hated time wasters. Taking the offered chair, he focused all his attention on his account manager, so it was clear that he was listening carefully and was ready for Bloodmoon to continue.

"It appears your Aunt has not informed you of your heritage, nor has she informed you of our world, therefore the task falls to me." Bloodmoon sneered, before adding "I forgive you of your rudeness, and your ignorance of our world."

He just nodded accepting Bloodmoon's apology of sorts since he didn't want to say anything else, and risk losing any more respect. But he felt he should at least say sorry for his earlier rudeness and hopefully he could start again. "I am sorry for my earlier outburst and rudeness, I meant no disrespect."

"Apology accepted Mr. Potter, now since it is clear you have no knowledge of our world, I have to ask, since it logical place to start," Bloodmoon said whilst looking at Harry across the desk, "What do you know of your parent's death?"

Answering truthfully and calmly, all the while trying to suppress his rising anger, as well mixture of other emotions, "Nothing besides what my Aunt and Uncle told me," he said with his own sneer. "But I expect now that it is a lie, based on everything you have told me," tears forming in his eyes as he spoke, prior to taking another couple deep breaths, trying to calm himself, before continuing on.

"My Aunt and Uncle told me my parents died in a car accident resulting from drunk driving. And that my father was a drug addict and my mother was a common whore," tears now flowing freely.

Looking up at Bloodmoon, it was clear that the goblin was angry at what he was being told, based on the new fire in his eyes and the rigid posture his account manager shifted to, before he finally spoke up confirming Harry's private hopes that it was an ugly lie. "Mr. Potter, your Aunt and Uncle have lied to you; both your parents were respectable members of the magical community. Both as Lord and Lady Potter, as well as in their careers, your father was a highly skilled and respected Auror, and your Mother was a respectable researcher." Before refilling the cup with water, as Harry processed this new information.

After handing the cup back to Harry, Bloodmoon continued his explanation, "Your Mother was an Unspeakable at the Ministry, essentially a researcher investigating magic, as well several other areas of research. Whilst you're Father, when not conducting his Lordship duties, was a Hit Wizard, who was responsible for leading a team of wizards and witches to hunt down and capture dangerous criminals, basically a high level law enforcement officer."

All he could do was nod, as Bloodmoon explained about his parents and their careers. It was comforting knowing the truth about his parents; it didn't make him feel worthless anymore.

"Now let me tell you the basics of what happened, just so you can understand, because I am not responsible for wizarding history, just your wider financial dealings," his account manager explained.

Clearing his foggy eyes as he looked back at his account manager, he said calmly as possible, "You have my full and undivided attention."

**Two Hours Later**

"I think that will be enough for this evening," Bloodmoon announced looking over at his clock.

"Ok I admit, I'm finding it more and more difficult to keep my eyes open, no matter how much I want to continue," Harry said. In the last two hours, Bloodmoon had managed to cover the basic magical history, as well as an introduction of magical Britain, and his parent's own history, or at least what he knew of his mum and dad.

"I have room already prepared for you," Bloodmoon said, folding up piece of paper and placing it back in his desk drawer. "We will continue our discussion in morning, after you've had the chance to process this new information," he said whilst looking at him, through his own tired eyes, before walking over to the office door.

"Bloodmoon, why did you collect me just after mid-night? It just seems unusual," Harry asked, because banks in the non-magical world were never open at this time of the night.

"Mr. Potter, we here at Gringotts have been trying to reach you for years. Your magical guardian has blocked our attempts through official channels; at the age of eleven you can claim your household rights. This wouldn't have been a problem due to your age, but we have also found irregular accounting within your household dealings; simply speaking we believe your vaults are being robbed," his account manager explained, looking at him seriously, with hints of anger rising in his features.

"Robbed?" he questioned, keeping his voice calm and level, but his insides aching at his misfortune, suddenly finding new energy to stay awake.

"Not robbed, in the sense of breaking and entering. But profits from your family portfolio are at an all-time low in the last 8 years. We here at Gringotts believe your magical guardian is changing the books we receive, and is redirecting profits made from investments and sales into shell businesses across Europe, before redirecting it elsewhere. Unfortunately due to laws, as well as our own rivalry with Dwarven clans, who control magical banking in magical France and Germany, we have had limited options without your consent, and that can't happen until you are at least eleven years old," Bloodmoon explained.

Harry just nodded in understanding, since he remembered reading about a similar story over a year ago in one of the financial newspapers his uncle read, where a man had managed to steal over 70 million pounds by using a similar method to what Bloodmoon was suggesting. He thought about it more as they walked, before asking respectfully, "I understand what you're saying, but why is claiming my household rights so important that you need to meet me a couple hours after midnight? Surely you could have waited until I arrived with a Hogwarts staff member for my banking introduction as is standard protocol." Remembering Bloodmoon's earlier introduction about magical banking; and how Hogwarts staff would often act as an escort for their charges, if their guardians or parents were non-magical.

"The laws state that you can claim your lordship on your eleventh birthday if you are the last of your line. But this has to be done within the first 168 hours, otherwise you have to wait until your 14th birthday, 16th, and then finally 17th birthday when you are official declared an adult," answered Bloodmoon, whilst walking to the suite that had been made ready for Harry to stay in.

"Simply speaking, you only had a week from midnight today to claim your birthright; otherwise you would have to wait for another 3 years until your 14 birthday. Effectively giving the one responsible for stealing from you longer to steal, or to cover his or her tracks before we could investigate on your behalf," his account manager said, moving toward pair of large double doors.

Bloodmoon quickly unlocked the door and handed over the gold key to Harry before continuing, "We believe your magical guardian to be involved, or has at least some knowledge of what has been occurring and the people responsible, mainly due to the fact he has denied the need for investigation into you accounts, which he could have authorized on your behalf. He also has blocked and denied our requests to have a meeting with you as soon as you reached your 11th birthday on the grounds that you would be too immature to handle such knowledge and responsibility. He has argued that you should have a normal childhood, like your parents would have wanted," Bloodmoon explained with a sneer, as he opened the doors for Harry.

"Due to the scale of this investigation, and the possible individuals involved, it could take several years to get to bottom of this crime and catch the responsible parties. Hence the sooner we get started, the better. Plus with us immediately talking to you, we can get a head start on the investigation before the individuals involved have a chance to further cover their tracks."

Harry tried to project a calm face at this news, but the thoughts of betrayal made that impossible. It was sickening that the person responsible for protecting his family assets was stealing from him, causing his anger to emerge and his voice to be laced with venom as he asked the next obvious question, "Who is my magical Guardian?"

"Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts," replied Bloodmoon, before disappearing down corridor, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

**Next Morning,**

Harry was currently being escorted from his room back to Bloodmoon's office. Sadly he hadn't managed to get much sleep, with all things Bloodmoon said filling his mind with countless questions he wanted to ask.

Walking through a pair of silver doors, they moved into a vast marble hall. Harry looked around, taking in the amazing sight of a goblin-run bank. It wasn't very busy since it was still early in morning, and it had just gone past 9 o'clock. But there were still about a hundred goblins sitting behind desks, signing papers, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, and examining precious stones through eyeglasses. It was a hive of activity.

Harry couldn't remember passing through here the previous evening, maybe he hadn't noticed considering all that was on his mind. But the way his escort acted, it was almost like a tour, the only thing that was missing was the commentary.

Finally, they reached a corridor that he recognized from previous night. It was lined with doors on both sides with names engraved on plaques. Stopping at the door with gold name plate on it, with '_Bloodmoon' _clearly inscribed in the centre with a clear blue sapphire at the end. His escort opened the door for him and led him through into the office he had been in previous evening.

He hadn't managed to take in much of the details the previous evening. The office was large and had various weapons mounted on the walls, from small plain daggers to gem-encrusted swords. The other wall was lined with two cabinets, one with files and another with several items that Harry didn't recognize.

"Please sit down Mr. Potter, and we will get started." Bloodmoon said, looking up from his papers before looking at his escort, "You may leave us, I'll summon you if you are required," gesturing for the armoured goblins to leave.

The armoured goblins bowed once to Bloodmoon, before leaving the office.

"Mr. Potter, I take it you are well rested?" his account manager asked from across the desk, wearing the same armour as the night before.

"Yes, thank you. Account Manager Bloodmoon, I have a quick question before we begin," he said seriously, seeing his manager sitting straighter at his words."I hope it does not cause you any offense, but I need to ask for my own peace of mind."

"You may ask, I'll try not to be offended," replied his account manager.

Harry look at Bloodmoon in eyes before continuing, trying to project an image of calm and seriousness, like Bloodmoon was, "After everything you told me, and how my magical guardian may be stealing from me, the most logical question would be, how can I trust you not to betray me as well?" Making sure eye contact was maintained whilst delivering the question.

A smile appeared, showing several sharp pointed teeth; it was bit unnerving. "Good question Mr. Potter, especially considering what has happen to you, but effectively me and my family are under a magical blood contract. If I were to betray you willingly, my life and my family's would be forfeited by the magic in our blood, due to breaking our agreement," Bloodmoon explained.

All he could do was nod at the statement, since he had no way of confirming it, so he would just have to take Bloodmoon at his word. However he made a mental note to look up what blood contracts meant, as well as any other types of magical agreements. Before saying, "Thank you for your support and advice then Bloodmoon, it is most valued."

"You're most welcome. Also, take into account; I get paid based on how much money you earn. So the more money I make you, the more I get paid. You could say I get paid based on commission," Bloodmoon said with a smile on his face. "So I think you can understand why it is in my best interest to ensure that you are successful."

Nodding in understanding, it also confirmed a theory he had been working on, after seeing how the bank worked during his short tour earlier. Goblins were a group driven by wealth, and were a race of merchants, as it were, haggling for prices on services and what not.

"Also, Mr. Potter," causing him to refocus his attention back on his account manager, "An additional reason why you can trust me, is that if you are successful, I move up in status here at bank. I am one of the oldest; the decline of your fortune, under the guardianship of Albus Dumbledore has threatened my own position, and my own chances of being promoted to a higher office. Also, the fact is if I get demoted, my life is forfeited and my son will replace me."

"Ok, I understand, it's in your own mutual interest to ensure that my wealth grows. Now shall we move on?" he asked, feeling better in knowledge that as long as there was profit in it, Bloodmoon wouldn't betray him. Of course he still had no way of confirming it.

"Indeed we shall. Now your mother and father's wills have been blocked by the ministry, and can't be unblocked to your 17th birthday," he said while raising a hand to stop Harry from questioning him.

Bloodmoon continued on, "We expect this was in part done by your magical guardian, we can only guess at his motives. Now the Potter Household is an ancient house, dating back over 2 thousand years. During this time Potter household has been in similar situations due to wars and conflicts, so a number of safeguards are in place, to help protect its members, and increase the chances of the house survival," pausing to allow the news to sink in.

"Your parents Mr. Potter were concerned for your upbringing and made preparations in case of their deaths, or unforeseen events to occur that would prevent them from fulfilling their duties. One of these preparations was declaring you an heir to one of the bloodlines titles was which previously thought to have died out several centuries ago."

**'**Ok my parents put in safe guards, that's good, what does he mean by bloodline?' he thought, whilst taking some calming breaths to help him focus, before replying, "Ok so you are effectively are activating a safeguard, but how does this bloodline work, and how does this help me?" he questioned rapidly.

"Mr. Potter, your family has two titles, but they have only used one, because this second title has a colourful history within the magical world. The Potter name has been used first because this was their original title, and is considered grander. The other was required through marriage. Due to your lordship being blocked through the Potter line, the safeguard activates this second lordship, effectively giving you same rights and privileges as you would have with Potter name. Then, you can then claim your Potter lordship at your 17th birthday, at the latest," the goblin explained with a predatory grin.

Smiling at the news, he rather liked the idea, and the more he thought about it, the more he liked it, it would be a fresh start, a new life, a means to forget his connection with his mother's sister's family. Looking back at Bloodmoon with his own predatory smile, "Ok, what is this second title called?"

**End of Chapter**


	2. Y1 Names, and Flames

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure Let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

* * *

><p><strong>The Midnight Lord - Chapter 2: Names, and Flames<strong>

**Originally posted 25th Jan 2012**

**Revised by ****BuckeyeForLife**** on ****19****th**** Sep 2012** **(New Edition)**

"Lord Peverell, Mr. Potter," Bloodmoon responded calmly.

"Lord Peverell," Harry said aloud, confirming what Bloodmoon had just said. Saying it again in his mind, liking the way the name seemed to ring, before deciding he liked it. It also made him feel important, and powerful, he couldn't help but think of Star Wars, and Lord Vader as his mind started playing the Imperial march sound track.

Seeing Bloodmoon nod in response, confirming he had heard the name correctly, causing him to smile, before his account manager interrupted his thoughts, "I take it you would like to take up the lordship of Peverell Household and the line Mr. Potter?" Hearing Bloodmoon words brought him back to reality, from having a daydream of wearing a cape and sword on his hip. He was just about to agree, but a rogue thought cross his mind, 'Surely there is a downside, this is too good to be true, nothing in my life is ever this simple.'

Responding to the question, "I would very much like to take up the Peverell Lordship, but it seems too good to be true, too simple. Surely there is a downside to this, or something?" After all the night before he had just found out that he was loaded. But at the same time he was being robbed by the man who was responsible for his care. So why would this be simple? Nothing else had been so far.

"Indeed Mr. Potter, you are correct. There are some downsides to this, but everything has downsides to a point." The goblin said seriously, before continuing on with his explanation. "I personally believe the potential gains outweigh the possible negative aspects." He said firmly, making it clear that he thought Harry should take up the lordship and the position. They both stared at each other across the table, waiting for one of them to buckle first, before his account manager finally gave in and asked "Shall I start with the positive or negative parts first?"

"Positive parts first please," Harry replied, internally smirking at winning the short stare down. After all, Bloodmoon had made it clear earlier than he was after maximum profit, to ensure his position and life. That meant he would not necessary be looking out for what was best for Harry outside the financial market place.

"Essentially, taking up the Peverell Lordship will give you an extra layer of protection against the laws. This is due to Heads of Houses having extra rights and privileges over lesser peers and households. So if someone attempts to cause you harm or individuals under your protection, you would have the ability to block and counter them within the courts." Bloodmoon said carefully, before adding, "It also gives you an increased degree of independence and freedom; this is in part due to you being considered an adult under the laws of magic. Effectively speaking you won't have to follow the underage laws. I won't go into the specifics of it, but in effect you would be considered an adult to point, and will limit your current magical guardian's ability to control your life," his account manager explained. This caused him to smile at the news of possibly being free of his relatives permanently, making it a great birthday after all.

Besides, it was nothing new really, he had been forced to grow up a long time ago and had been responsible for caring for himself, since his relatives didn't care. After all, he had been cooking, cleaning, and slaving away around his Aunt and Uncle's house whilst they did nothing but complain about him, saying he was lazy of all things! He had taken care of his own wounds from beatings they had inflected. In many ways he was already an adult, but just had a child's body. Freedom from that hell hole alone was making taking up the Lordship very appealing.

"Bloodmoon, would this lordship mean I would not have to return to my Aunt and Uncle's house?" he asked carefully, privately hoping he wouldn't have to return.

"Indeed Mr. Potter, you would be free to pick your own accommodation," said his account manager, causing him to instantly smile at the news. "However you would have to be regularly checked on by an adult, to ensure you are not endangering yourself until your 14th birthday, of course we can always over look that point," the goblin said with a devious grin, causing him to smile at the rather obvious bribe.

"Of course at your 14th birthday you would have to start taking a more active role in the politics of the magical world. By attending the courts and other key events, unless you chose to appoint someone else as proxy until you are 17. Your current magical guardian is currently acting as your default proxy for the courts. So you can choose to leave such responsibilities with him, rather than having to burden yourself with them until you're ready." Bloodmoon explained, as he just nodded, confirming he was still following the goblins explanation.

"Also, we here at Gringotts can take the control of your financial assets away from your current magical guardian, and hence indirectly into your hands. At most the headmaster will only be able to look at bank statements, and we can always change these if necessary. After all, if he is under investigation it would be counterproductive and unprofessional to let him have knowledge of your current financial dealings. And we here at Gringotts take out client's privacy most seriously," Bloodmoon said in a predatorily manner.

He couldn't help but smile at the idea of being able to control his family money, and finally being able to buy his own things rather having to go around in rags. His account manager added, "However I would suggest you allow me to manage your investments and financial dealings, until you have a suitable understanding of economics."

"Of course Bloodmoon, As long has you don't mind the extra burden." He replied, already accepting the idea of leaving most of his business decisions in hands of the Goblin, who clearly was more suitable than himself, and would be far more ruthless in the pursuit of profit.

"Of course I am happy to provide the service; there would naturally be additional fee of three percentage due to nature of these services," the account manager replied, with a smile.

"That is acceptable," he said with a firm nod. After all he knew next to nothing about the magical world; let alone how to run a successful business, to say nothing about several of them at the same time. He would be way out of his depth, plus he still had Hogwarts to attend, so 3% was more than acceptable.

"Good, at the same time I can build up your other investments on your behalf, under the Peverell household account. The advantage of this is until it becomes public knowledge that you are both Lord Potter and Lord Peverell, you will be able to buy shares of business under both names, without people being aware of it. Effectively speaking, you could buy 15% under the Potter Household name, and another 15% under Peverell name. No one would be aware you controlled 30% of the business, potentially allowing you to take control of the business without your rivals being aware of the danger."

"Ok, I understand, so what's the downside?" He asked, since he could gain control over his finances as well gain freedom from his abusive relatives. Whilst leaving the political responsibilities with his magical guardian, until he believed himself capable enough to handle them.

"The main one Mr. Potter is if you ever committed a crime. You could be charged as an adult wizard, rather than a minor, therefore you have to behave yourself." Bloodmoon said sternly, causing him to nod in understanding. "Also you are more exposed to wizard politics, but you can let your proxy handle that like I stated earlier. It depends whether you want to be involved with politics or not. If you don't let your proxy handle it, otherwise you will have to attend major court cases and hearing as well the as the off chance of a blood feud being declared against you."

"Blood feud? What do you mean by that?" He asked his account manager, slightly alarmed since he heard of something similar when reading about the Medieval Europe for school.

Bloodmoon answered calmly, "Blood feud is essentially declaring a house war between your house and another house, effectively a private war between yourself and your allies, against another household and their allies. This is where having two names can be very useful, especially in investing in a joint own business against rivals," the goblin answered displaying his pointed teeth with a cruel grin.

"Ok, I understand Bloodmoon, is there anything else I should know?" he probed.

"You will have to fulfil any outstanding magically binding contracts. However, fortunately your parents did not leave you any outstanding contracts for you to fulfil," his account manager answered.

Thinking over what Bloodmoon had just said, 'Ok blood feud sounds bad, but I've never gone looking for trouble, so if I keep my head down, there is a good chance I will never have to worry about that. The freedom is worth it,' looking back at Bloodmoon before replying "I accept the Peverell Lordship, how do I claim this title?"

Bloodmoon reached into his desk, and pulled out a small silver box. Opening the box, revealing two rings he pushed them across the desk so Harry could see them.

Both were silver, but one was darker with hints of blue and purple that had a triangle within a circle, the circle itself seem to have flames around it (not the hallow) with engravings under the symbol. It seemed to pulse, like a beating heart, while the other ring was plain silver, but had a sword striking down the middle with a triangle around it, with another inscription underneath.

"Mr. Potter, the plain silver ring with a sword is the Potter heir ring. When you become 17, it will change itself into a new ring. This ring will be unique, just like it is with every Lord Potter. No one besides you can wear the ring; anyone else will suffer greatly from its protections. Only your heirs and successor will ever be able to wear the ring. To claim your heritage has a Potter, you only have to put the ring on." Bloodmoon explained, pushing the plain silver ring forward.

Reaching forward towards the ring, he couldn't help but feel nervous. His father would have worn this ring at one point, before thinking what hand should he put it on? 'I write with my right hand, so should it be on left, so it doesn't get in away?' he mentally asked himself. Before deciding that left hand would do, after all he could always change hands later.

Taking the ring, and placing it on his left middle finger, he could feel a pulse; it was familiar, warm, comforting and reinsuring. The ring glowed once before fading, accepting him as the Potter family heir as he bonded with his ancestral magic's.

Bloodmoon finally spoke up, after watching the whole ordeal, "Now you are bonded with your family magic, you will be able access areas and item that may have been previously denied to you, such as family tomes. This is a common practice amongst magical families to help protect family secrets. The ring will also help protect your mind from wizards trained in mind arts, but I advise you to study mind arts sooner rather than later. Because the ring will only protect you fully against an average wizard, not one trained in mind arts like your magical guardian. Trained wizards will eventually be able to overcome the magical protections, and the best the ring will be able to do is create a fog around your thoughts. They can still be seen, but they will be unclear," his account manager explained.

At the words mind arts, he couldn't help but feel nervous, not liking the idea of his mind being attacked. His mind had always been his own sanctuary, his private world to escape into. Deciding to ask Bloodmoon about it, so he would be better able to protect himself, "What do you mean by mind arts?"

Bloodmoon look at him for moment, seem to be weighing what to say. "Mind arts are the ability to influence and protect the mind. We all have natural barriers, but these grow as we age. However, a wizard or witch trained in mind arts is able to view memories of another individual as well as influence the mind with the planting of compulsions and suggestions," the Goblin said sternly, before adding, "Mind arts also help increase one's ability to recall information, suppress fears and physical pain. A witch or wizard trained in this ability is more capable. This magic is consider dark grey, and is tightly controlled by the ministry due to the damage it can inflict. You understand Mr. Potter the seriousness of this skill, the only reason I told you this is so you can protect your secrets, and our business dealings," explained Bloodmoon with smile.

Nodding; he could understand why it was considered dangerous by the ministry, especially when dealing with another person's mind. Looking back to see Bloodmoon continuing to judge him, waiting for an answer to the unspoken question, "I understand, thank you for telling me. How would I go about learning how to defend my mind?" he asked.

"Mr. Potter, this skill is tightly controlled by the ministry, however most ancient and noble households' libraries contain books, as well other materials related to this skill. Your parents, in their wisdom at the start of war moved their libraries into their vaults here, in case of being lost if their home was ever attacked. Otherwise, family history and priceless one of kind books and tomes could have been destroyed, with the knowledge being lost to the ages. However, the more colourful books and tomes were moved into Peverell vault, to stop them from going missing, or being destroyed by ministry attempting to claim them for themselves."

"Colourful tomes?" Harry replied, raising an eyebrow at Bloodmoon's wording.

Bloodmoon answer, "Yes colourful," pausing before continuing "Some are more interesting texts, and knowledge, which cannot be sold on the standard magical market. Others are one of kind books that individuals could very well kill for, due to their worth and knowledge. However discussing these tomes is pointless unless you are lord Peverell," pushing the case forward, drawing Harry attention back to the second ring.

Picking up the second ring, it seemed to pulse in his hand, calling to him. However as he went to put it on his left hand, next to the heir ring, it pulsed again. It seemed to call to him, willing itself to be on his right hand and before he realized it, the ring was on his right hand.

It pulsed aggressively into life; the engraved flames on ring began to glow before starting to dance along the ring, while the other symbols seemed to glow an unnatural red. Where the Potter ring had been warm and confronting, the Peverell ring burned with white hot fire, demanding, raging, and singing in joy within his blood, before diving deeper into him. Then, it suddenly seemed to increase with a rage and intensity, prior to a wave of pain attacking his senses. His whole body was screaming, the pain greater than anything he had endured at his relatives, before closing his eyes and accepting the welcome darkness.

**Bloodmoon Pov**

He watched with interest as young Mr. Potter reached for Peverell household ring, it had been interesting dealing with the young lord. He had been full of surprises, and had asked many questions of Bloodmoon throughout their discussions. He couldn't help but feel hopeful, that by taking the time and energy to explain and help the young lord, it would help create a successful and trusting business relationship, just like the ones he had with the previous Lord Potters.

Flickers of flames caught his eye, causing him to wake from his internal pondering, causing him to grasp in shock at seeing the magical fire dancing across the lord's skin. 'The ring can't be rejecting him surely, the blood ritual had been performed when he was child,' were his immediate thoughts. Then the idea of losing all of the commission he could have made from managing the Lords accounts, as well the loss of his promotion, and his life! Before hearing an unnatural scream of pain, as Mr. Potter passed out.

Quickly rushing to the door, and instructing the guard to bring a med-witch immediately, before checking to see if Mr. Potter was still alive. As he got closer he could clearly see the young lords' chest faintly rising and falling, before he thought, 'Good he's breathing, I may still get that promotion.'

The med-witch arrived in room and asked immediately, "What happened here?" as she rushed to young boy on floor, before beginning to cast several medical scanning charms.

He answered, "Mr. Potter just put on a head of house ring, which he claimed, through being the last of the line," gesturing to Mr. Potter's right hand.

Several minutes passed without a word, before med-witch spoke again, "He will live. The cause of the problem was his magical core had magical bindings on it, most likely from his parents. Therefore when claiming the ring, the house magic ripped the bindings from his core all at once, this can be an extremely painful experience."

Nodding at the med-witch's diagnosis, as she carefully explained the source of the problem, since he didn't know much about non-goblin magical healing, he gestured for the witch to continue her explanation. "Normally these magical bindings would be removed over a course of a year. He should wake up in the next couple hours, maybe a day at most. There should be no side effects, due to it being done by house magic, rather than by being done by another wizard."

"Please could you inform me as soon as he wakes, and please do not discuss anything that you have seen in here, Madam Healer," he instructed, before walking over to his desk, leaving young Mr. Potter in care of healer.

Thinking over what needed to be done, now that he had been given permission to investigate Potter accounts, he had to see the extent of the transactions, and the scale of damage that had been done to the portfolio. He also had to find one of Potter household properties, what could act as a home for the young lord, since the Potter family manor had been destroyed in last days of war and hadn't been rebuilt during the last decade. His last thoughts before starting the demanding tasks ahead of him were, 'This is going to be a long day'.

* * *

><p><strong>Next day –Gringotts bank hospital wing<strong>

Harry slowly opened his foggy eyes, wondering where he was before immediately shutting them in response to the bright lights. He was half tempted to just lie there, and try to get back to sleep. But he was curious of where he was exactly, and if everything had just been a cruel dream.

However he knew that wasn't true; he could feel it in his core! Plus, he could sense both rings on his fingers. He opened his eyes carefully, this time raising his hands to help block out the light, allowing his eyes to adjust, so he wasn't immediately blinded again.

Looking at his hands, he could clearly see the two rings, the Peverell household ring resting calmly on his index finger, whilst on his other hand rested the Potter household ring, his ancestral family. Finally having the feeling that he wouldn't be blinded any longer by the light, he allowed his hands to drop to his side, before quickly looking around the room trying to locate his glasses.

After a while he successfully located them of the bedside table. Now he was finally able to see clearly, and no longer suffering from foggy vision. He carefully started examining the room, getting the impression he was in a hospital of sorts, based on the rooms' layout and the clean white sheets.

Thinking over how he got here, before remember what happened upon placing the Peverell household ring on his hand and the ensuing pain. However his analysis of the events was cut short, by a feminine voice.

"Good to see you awake Mr. Potter, I am Madam Healer Ayra. I am responsible for your care." The nurse like figure said as an introduction, prior to moving to his side.

He gave himself a mental pat on the back, somewhat proud that his own analysis had proven to be correct. "Nice to meet you Madam, what happened?" he asked with interest, wondering how he ended up in the hospital.

"When you placed the ring on your hand, it removed the magical restrains on your magic. This allowed you to fully access your magical core and energy," she explained, gesturing to the ring on his right hand, before starting to move her wand elegantly. Causing him to just nod, accepting the explanation from the healer.

After finishing whatever she was doing with her wand, she added. "Most of time, these restrains would be removed by your parents, prior to starting school. Or by your school healer across your first year, allowing you to slowly gain access to your power, rather than suddenly being overwhelmed by it, like you were."

"What do you mean by restraints on my magical core," he probed, wondering why his parents would put magical restraints on him, as well as out of personal interest.

"Well our magical cores when we are born are unstable and as we grow, our magical core grows with us. During childhood, a magical child can have outbursts of magic, caused by stress or powerful emotions. The restraints were created with the purpose of stopping you from harming yourself by using your magic accidently. These would be removed once you were old enough to control it, without harming yourself. This is also why such restraints would be removed prior to starting school." Ayra explained seriously, whilst sitting on the bedside sit next to him.

"Ok, thank you," he said, thinking over the explanation.

"You're welcome Mr. Potter. However these magical restrains can do permanent damage, and can affect your emotions, and ultimately costing you your life if left on into adulthood," She explained.

"Thank you Madam."

"However I must ask you about your current living conditions due to the fact you are under weight, and have extensive internal and external scarring," the healer stated in no-nonsense tone, causing him to snap out of his thoughts.

Suddenly feeling nervous at Ayra's line of questioning, as well truthfully not knowing how to respond to the question, should he lie about his relatives? Or tell the truth? After all no one had believed him before.

Deciding to tell truth, "Hmm... Madam, I have to ask this to stays between us, I'd rather my life stayed private," he said.

"Mr. Potter, as a healer and an employee of Gringotts Bank, everything you say will stay confidential," the witch said sternly, with an air of professionalism about her.

"Ok, thank you." He said slowly, before looking across the room, not wanting to make eye contact with the women, before saying quietly.

"I won't bore you with my life story Madam. But I was placed with my non-magical relatives, after my parent's deaths in the closing days of the last war." He said, recalling what his account manager had said during their first meeting. "My relatives were far from being an upstanding family, I was often beaten, by my uncle," he said, pausing unsure what he should say.

Sighing, feeling a bit overwhelmed at finally being able to talk about it to someone without fear. "I was treated more like a slave, than a child," he said carefully, waiting for the healer to say something.

She had seen many things since she had trained to be healer after leaving Hogwarts; she had seen the horrors of the last war first hand. However hearing of the abuse and seeing the scars first hand, was truly horrifying, especially that a family could do that to a child. Suppressing her rising anger at the situation, as she battled to maintain her professional bearing, she carefully started to weigh her options. It was obvious the young man wanted to keep it private, and didn't want any pity.

"I understand," she said, deciding that she would have to discreetly report it to his account manager at least, before saying, "I will make a note of it, as well take some evidence. Then I'll have a copy placed in your vault, encase you ever desire to press charges against them. I can also provide you with a list of potions to help treat your injuries, and help undo the damage done." She said, before silently summoning her note pad, quill, and ink well, writing a list of potions and handing it back to Harry.

Harry bowed his head to her, before saying gratefully, "Thank you Madam," causing her heart to light up that she had been able to at least help the young boy.

"You're welcome. Also, your Hogwarts letter is on the desk, it arrived this morning," she said gesturing to bedside table, whilst remembering the excitement she felt when hers arrived.

Reaching over and taking his letter off the desk, before carefully opening it, feeling excited about getting his first letter ever. Reading it quickly, there was the traditional introduction letter, and then a book list. After giving it a quick read, he looked back at Ayra, to see she had been observing him with interest. "Madam may I borrow a quill so that I can sign the acceptance letter?" he said.

"Here," she said, handing him quill and the link, letting him sign the acceptance letter, which disappeared after he had signed it.

"When you are ready, your account manager Bloodmoon wants to see you." Ayra said to him, before gesturing towards the double doors. "The guard by the door will escort you to his office and your clothes are in the bedside table," before turning around leaving him with his thoughts.

**Afternoon - shopping**

Finally leaving the bank, and getting his first look at the magical world, he couldn't help but feel excited. Feeling the heavy coin bag in his pocket, as he strolled down the high street, wondering what he would find and buy.

Taking one final look at the bank, causing him to think about his account manager and everything he had done for him. Earlier that day, Bloodmoon had shown him his vaults; in the Peverell vault he found a magical trunk that contained a small library of key texts books. That had been gathered by his mother to help him, as well several letters from his parents, which he planned to open soon as he was alone. Bloodmoon had also managed to set up a Gringotts card. The card itself was black with gold Dragon on it, with Gringotts Bank printed beneath it. It also was meant to work in the non-magical world, a bit like a credit or debit card would.

He really was thankful for Bloodmoon's efforts, the goblin had also managed to set him up with a special portkey to transport him, to and from a small apartment which would be his temporary residence until he started Hogwarts.

Of course there had been the small fee charged by the goblins, but from what Bloodmoon had explained during their meeting the fee was minimal compared to their normal charges for such services. Not that he minded really, since he wouldn't have been able to do it himself.

Quickly consulting the shopping list, he concluded it would be best to go to the trunk store first. Since he would need a new trunk for Hogwarts, plus he could use it as storage space whilst he did the rest of his shopping. After all, all the trunks in his vaults were currently being used, and he didn't fancy using a second hand one anyways, especially now he could buy his own brand new one.

Walking along the alley, he couldn't help but be amazed by the sights and sounds, before seeing a shop advertising 'Trunks'.

Entering the dusty store, he noticed the shop owner sitting at desk at the far end of the room, reading a newspaper of sorts called the Prophet. Walking over to the desk, he rang the bell on the counter, immediately getting the man's attention.

"Can I help you?" the man questioned, looking at him up and down.

"Yes, I was wondering if I could get a trunk for Hogwarts," He responded looking around the store with interest.

"Of course, what type of trunk would you like? A basic model?" he asked after looking at him again, making it clear he thought that Harry would have money issues based on his clothing, which was several sizes too big.

"One of the more advanced models pleases. It needs to have at least 4 compartments, one for clothing, another one for books, one for random items, and a final compartment for storing any potions and ingredients." He instructed, however the man seemed to continue heading over to the right side of the store, almost totally ignoring his request, heading over towards a decrepit trunk.

Speaking loudly, trying to project his voice, "I also need it to have the best security wards possible," before flashing his left hand, showing his family ring, instantly getting the man's attention with the flash of silver.

The man looked at him for second, "You obviously are not a muggle-born, I thought you were based on your clothes," the store owner said giving an apology for the assumption. "I currently have 3 trunks that match your requirements."

Gesturing to a trunk on his left, "This is the standard design; the leather can change to the colour of your choice. The next one is simple maple wood, with Nix-Skin leather. And the final one is yew, with Black-Hungarian Horntail hide; however this is the most expensive one of the three, costing 65 Galleons, with another 35 for extra non-standard security features." the shop owner explained.

He carefully examined each of the trunks, and asked number of question about security on the trunks before finally settling on the horntail. After all he was a lord, how better to say it to world, by having a trunk made from expensive-dragon hide? He also he felt he deserved to have something new for himself for change, since he had to always have had second hand clothes and other discarded items.

Plus it was made of dragon leather after all, and that was so much cooler than cow hide!

**End of chapter**


	3. Y1 Wands, Letters and Tears

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure yet if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings yet.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

* * *

><p><strong>The Midnight Lord - Chapter 3: Wands, Letters and Tears<strong>

**Originally posted Jan 30****th**

**Revised ****by ****BuckeyeForLife**** on**** 22****nd**** Sep 2012**

Looking up at the sign of the final shop of the day, _'Ollivander's – Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.'_, he checked himself over making sure his black silk robes, were presentable, after all, this would be his first meeting and it was wise to make a suitable first impression. He had noticed the difference immediately after stepping out of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, how fellow wizard and witches looked at him, instead of looks of disdain, they were looks of approval; shop assistants were more helpful and eager.

Walking over to shop next to Ollivanders to get his reflexion in window, to ensure he presented the correct image, checking to make sure the silver mithril chain around his neck was hidden from view. He had bought the chain from a goblin run jewellery store earlier in day. The chain had 2 enchantments on it, first was warning enchantments against poison and foreign substances found in foods and drinks, second it allowed his Peverell house ring to be carried on it and provide house protections. After all, Bloodmoon had said it was best to keep his Peverell lordship secret as possible. No one could take it from him unless they were blood related, while he was last Potter, he would always have some form of protection.

Entering Ollivanders, there was a tinkle of a bell from above indicating to whoever owned the store that they had a customer. Surprisingly enough, the small dusty stall was empty currently; he thought it would be busy with everyone wandering around in the street.

"Mr. Potter, we finally meet at last, I remember the day your parents came in for their first wands like it was yesterday," a voice said from behind him, startling him somewhat. Spinning on his heel, he turned to see what he thought to be the Wizarding version of Albert Einstein peering at him through his spectacles with interest. "Yes, yes, mahogany and 11 inches, pliable, excellent for transfiguration, your father's wand was, and Lily Evans, your mother, 10¼ inches, willow, swishy, good for charms work. Both very good wands, I assume you're here to get yours too then?"

Harry looked at him before replying in the most sarcastic tone possible, "Indeed, after all the sign does say wands, and the Hogwarts shopping list states a wand, therefore what over purpose would I have?" raising an eyebrow at the shop keeper.

"Cheeky, just like your father was, well then, this way, which is your wand arm then?" asked the wand maker, pulling a tape measure out of his pocket and allowing it to float in mid air as it took the most obscure, and in his opinion, pointless measurements imaginable. Harry just wanted his wand as quickly as possible, so he went along with it, not caring either way.

"I'm right handed," Harry answered, but he got the feeling that Ollivander wasn't listening as he had just dismissed the answer and went out back to bring out a few boxes, of what he correctly assumed, held wands.

"Try this first, 11 inches, Dragon Heartstring, robust and good for defence charms," he said, handing him a char grey wand which immediately, upon having contact with it, sent a chill down his spine.

"Nope, not that one," Ollivander said, snatching the wand right out of his hand and returning it to its box, "Try this one, 11¼ inches, Unicorn hair core from a rather arrogant male unicorn, good for finesse and skilled spell casting," he explained, handing the wand to Harry, however, this one almost burnt his hand right off as soon as he touched it. "Nope, not that one either, it seems the Unicorn passed off its arrogance to his hairs as well. . ."

Fishing out another wand from the back, Ollivander had a smile on his face as he handed it to the boy. "This one should do it, 12 inches, Dragon Heartstring core from a particularly fierce Hungarian Horntail, excellent for battle magic and charms." This one sounded interesting to Harry, so, taking it in his hand and hoping for the best, he prepared to swish it only for a large number of shelves to burst open and release their contents around him in a wild display of chaotic magic.

"Hmm interesting," Ollivander said, "Interesting, I always enjoy a challenging customer," before turning back to the wands and handing him another one to try, then another... repeating the progress.

Harry himself was far from amused, as Ollivander kept making excuses; he had already gone through 30 wands with no positive reaction, or just getting feeble responses. He was getting the impression that Ollivander was trying to sell him a common wand, like a mass market salesmen, all were a dragon, unicorn, or some type of creature, just with different woods and lengths. Why didn't Ollivander just make him one? after all he was a wand maker? "Why don't you just make me a wand from scratch, after all none of wands so far have responded suitably, and I'd rather be home before midnight."

Ollivander looked at him, seeming to weigh him. They both stared at each other, not moving until Ollivander said, "Fine," moving to change the open sign to closed, before leading him into the back of the shop.

**Several hours later**

Looking down at wand Ollivander had crafted for him, the wand itself was made of blackthorn wood, with a core of a nightmare's tail hair. From what Ollivander had told him, nightmares were consider dark creatures by most due to them mainly being found in dark regions such as forests of Europe, and occasionally they turned up in the forest at Hogwarts. They had an ability to summon unnatural dark fire when provoked, and they were rumoured to bring people night mares, hence the name. Eventually, Ollivander concluded that the wand would be excellent at charms, like his mothers, with strong affinity for more primal spells, mainly fire based ones.

There were also focussing based runes on the wand, due to the nightmare core, to help control the more primal spells. Harry listened on with curiosity, after all the wand chose the wizard, however he was wondering what Ollivander meant by primal spells. "What do you mean by primal spells?"

"Primal spells are spells are driven or empowered by emotion, or use elemental parts, such as fire. Most primal spells are known as the dark arts by wizards due to their ability to cause harm, however the spell itself is not dark, or light, it is neutral. The caster decides the intent, not the spell," Ollivander replied, handing him the wand.

As soon as the wand touched his palm there was a rush, similar to the Peverell ring. Fire was singing in his veins, warm and comforting. The tip of the wand glowed and with a causal flick, fire spread out, rushing around him, changing into a small horse of flame before fading.

"Impressive Mr. Potter," replied Ollivander, "It seems we have good match. Is there anything else you would like?"

Lifting his glaze away from his wand, "Can I have a wand maintenance kit, along with a wand holster?"

"Of course," collecting the items, "That's a total of 40 Galleons. 25 for the wand, since it is made from some of my rarer materials, 5 for the kit, and another 10 for holster," answered, Ollivander. Harry gave the necessary amount, walking towards the door, before remembering his manners, and saying, "Thank you," as he left the store, not knowing if the old wand marker had heard him.

Outside, he made his way to a side alley, making sure no one was watching before pulling out the portkey Bloodmoon had provided, which was a large coin, and said, "New home," and felt the familiar sensation which he had experience earlier that week, before crashing into the floor just like before.

The apartment was small, with a single bedroom and a small bathroom, containing a shower. There was also a kitchen connected to the living room/receiving room, but compared to his cupboard it was spacious, and ideal for his needs.

The kitchen was basic, but it would do, worst case he could always get takeaway or eat at one of the restaurants/bars he had seen in the alley during the day. Making his way to the window, he appeared to be on the second floor of the building, while the alley below had a number of small shops, nothing special, which served his purposes of being low key. Deciding he could go exploring tomorrow, after all the kitchen only contained basic food stuffs, but he would need a list so he could remember everything he needed.

Pulling out a piece of parchment, since he had no paper, a quill and an ink bottle ..., 'first thing to do was look around, find any useful shops – after all he needed food, as well some new clothes for living in non-magical world. Then, he also had to order some potions for his scars, which was going to be problem, since he been unable to find an owl. Also, he needed to go through his mother's chest to see what it contained, and working out what needed to be done. Maybe I should look over charms, after all charms were my mother's strength, and this wand is meant to be good at them,'... Then his stomach rumbled ending his internal thought process.

Looking around kitchen, he decided to have some eggs and toast. Not that he had much choice in the matter, since it was only things he had in the cupboards.

**Sometime later**

Finishing his meal, he opened up his mother's mahogany chest, inside was a letter, in what he assumed was his mother's hand writing. He opened the letter addressed to him to reveal an elegant script.

_To Harry, our beautiful son,_

_Inside this chest are a series of books that your father and I thought would be the most helpful out of our family library in ensuring you had the best start possible. Most of this collection are books that focus on rarer skills and magical arts, which would be difficult to find on the open market The other rarer and more dangerous tomes should be in the vault, and should not be looked at until you are skilled enough to understand them. This collection is basically focused on introducing you to magic. However, there are two personal notebooks that we have written just for you. I myself, focused on charms and runes, since they were my strengths, as well my passion. Whilst your father's skills laid in art of transfiguration, but it focuses more on the use of it in a duel, instead of for academic purposes, as well using other spells for more creative results._

_Your father and godfather were also in process of producing a book on becoming an animagus. It is a skill that is time consuming to master, and most that do have the ability never achieve a transformation. Some just can't due to their magic, if you can't, don't be ashamed, it is extremely rare. I couldn't achieve an animal transformation either. However, before you try this look into the mind arts, you'll find it far easier; it will help you out more than you could ever know. It was reason why I was so successful during my schooling, your father said it is also good for pranking, being able to keep a straight face when lying to a teacher._

_There is also a book that both your father and I wrote containing our memories, our thoughts, so you can see who we were. There are sections later on that are under time lock for when you are older, its mainly contains our recollections of the war and our thoughts and feelings on what could of been done differently. I know it is a miserable subject, but I hope it helps you understand us, and our decisions, and your place in our hearts. Please remember everything we did, was to ensure you lived through the war. Some believed we lost our way, fell from the light into the darkness, but in war sometimes you have no other option than to kill, or be killed. Our motivation was you, so we could watch you grow old and live in a better world. However, some believed that forgiveness should be given and our captured foes could be redeemed, even if it means risking our own lives in process. Everyone should be given a chance, that is true, but some are beyond saving. _

_Other sections contain knowledge that only you should have, family knowledge, and will help you understand your inherited abilities. Magic is a living thing; it is inside beating away, pulsing through you, in your blood. In our blood, abilities form, but change from generation to generation. This is where the pureblood supremacy ideology has its roots; newer lines like mine just don't have these inherited abilities resulting from house magic, like your father does, but it was weaker than previous generations. This can be explained later when you are more able to understand it, however we felt that yours would be stronger, due to new magical blood being introduced. The signs were there when you were baby._

_Remember we will always love you, you were constantly in our hearts and thoughts, live life to the fullest, never let someone hold you back, and don't let yourself be controlled. Your life is our own and the people you wish to share it with. Remember we live on in you! we will always be there in your heart._

_We will always love you, and if we fell protecting you then it was a sacrifice we would have made without hesitation, without regret. Death is a journey all must take, the only choice we have is how we face it._

_Love you always in this life and the next,_

_Mum and Dad, _

_Lily and James Potter_

Harry couldn't turn his eyes away from text, his tears fell like rain drops onto the parchment, as he read the lines again and again, through his tear clouded eyes, trying to find comfort, in his mother's love. The words echoed in his mind, no one ever had said they loved him, but he felt it echoing from his mother's words, written over a decade ago.

Never realising it was getting darker outside as he continued to read the letter, trying to find some peace, but only feeling heartache, at the loss he felt, at what he been denied, he never had felt so alone. His thoughts turned darker, that his mother had been taken from him, before turning to his abuse at his uncle's hands, thinking of his suffering, his loss, he turned inwards, looking deeper in himself, 'I may never know you mum, dad, but I'll never forget what you gave so I could live. I will make them regret taking you from me; I'll make sure you didn't spend your lives in vain.' Tears continued to fall, as he lay on his bed, cursing the loss of his family, who he had never known, and would never know. A soft song began to echo, it was warm and comforting, soothing his aching heart, stopping his tears, allowing dreams to claim him.

**Elsewhere**

Viewing the land below, hunting for her prey in the snow covered forest below that stretched on beyond the horizon. On the winds she could feel heart ache, the grief of a child, crying over a lost mother. It was a beautiful sad melody, calling out, echoing, seeking comfort. Her prey quickly forgotten about, as she turned south west, it would be a long journey, but she decided to see if this one was worthy to be in her presence.

**End of chapter**


	4. Y1 Books, Trains, and a Codex

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure yet if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings yet.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

* * *

><p><strong>The Forgotten Lord - Chapter 4: <strong>**Books, Trains, and a Codex **

**20th Feb 2012 updated 8th Sep**

**Revised by ****BuckeyeForLife**** on**** 23th Sep 2012**

It had been a long restless night, his mother's letter still echoed in his mind and his heart still ached. Trying to distract himself from his own internal heartache, he had taken to exploring the surrounding area. The area immediately around the apartment turned out to be surprisingly well connected, with a small country village no more than a mile down the road. This village had some of the more common shops and services, which would effectively provide for most of his day to day living requirements.

He would still have to travel into town for some of his shopping needs; however he had discovered a local Tesco's super store in the immediate area. Also, it was maybe no more than 5 to 10 minutes by bus from the village centre, if he required anything else. Fortunately there was also a train station providing regular services to Waterloo Station, and therefore non-magical London, if he wished to avoid using the goblin portkey.

However, his mind turned towards the magical world and his future role in it as the next Lord Potter, and how he would have to carry the sole burden of rebuilding his house. He realized he would have to prepare so he could catch up with other heirs. He wouldn't settle for second place or hide his talents like he had been forced to at his relatives; he would make his parents proud of him. Turning towards his mother's chest, he decided needed to get started, so he could catch up with his future classmates. After all, other heirs and children coming from magical families would already have some prior education and instruction in magic; hence he needed to level the planning field.

First he took out a number of charms books and put them on the table, followed by Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions, Runes and Ancient Languages, as well many other books, sorting them into stacks based topic as he went. Seeing an old faded tome, he checked the aged volume over, prior to reading the title, _'Discovering the Mind – The Complete Guided to Mind Arts – by R&W De Lacy -1789.'_

His first impression was that the book could possibly be out of date, after all it was close to 200 years old and things do change. But he quickly dismissed this idea, after all his parents wouldn't have included the book if they thought it would be of little value.

Opening the book, he saw that the parchment was faded with age and looked well used. The book was divided into 5 chapters, first was an introduction, then preparation, the creation of the codex, common methods of defence, and the final section was on offensive usage of the abilities.

The introduction was similar to what Bloodmoon had explained during their meeting and contained the consequences of misuse. It also introduced new key terms, such as codex and mindscape. The codex, in a sense, was the vault in one's mind, whilst the mindscape was the area in the mind created to house the vault, where defences would be built to protect one's secrets.

There was one statement in the introduction that really stood out, _'The mind is ever-changing, and the practise of mind arts is a continuous skill. Each individual is different, one must always be aware of this, otherwise newer techniques can surpass even a mind with decades of defensives, just like the young replace the old_.'

How true that statement was. It made him even more interested, because the introduction made the skill sound exciting, like a game of chess, or a thief coming up with new means to rob a bank, whilst the bank was developing new means to stop the thieves, like a game of cat and mouse.

Turning to the next page, he began the task of preparing for the creation of his codex.

**Several hours later**

After reading the chapter, he discovered he'd unknowingly been preparing for the early stages of mind arts, due to him having learned to dampen the pain he had suffered at his uncle's hands. Also, the art of meditation was a key step in reaching and creating a successful codex, causing a rogue thought to cross his mind, 'at least his uncle had been useful for something,' before he crushed it completely, pushing thoughts of his useless relatives aside.

Taking a lotus position on his bed, before closing his eyes and taking several deep calming breaths, he slowly cleared his mind whilst thinking over the books instructions of how to create a codex. Even with the books warning about the difficulty of the task, he was confident that he would be able to create a simple codex before starting school. After all it would save him from continuously having to reread the same books, not that he would complain, but it would be nice to have his own private mind library and the additional benefits were well worth the effort.

Putting the book down and opening up one of the charms books entitled, 'Charming My Way.' The book was an introduction to charms and explained that charms were practical day to day spells, resulting in Harry spending the remainder of the day reading said book.

* * *

><p><strong>Several weeks later.<strong>

**August 30th, Bloodmoon's office.**

Bloodmoon was currently sitting at his desk waiting for his 10 o'clock appointment with young Lord Potter. Since their last meeting he had been investigating current Potter holdings, as well as making several minor investments under the Peverell account profile. Just as he was checking the time, there was knocking at the door.

'Good, he's on time, always a good sign for business,' passed through Bloodmoon's thoughts before composing himself and calling out, "Come in."

Harry quickly made his way across the office space to sit across from Bloodmoon. He was currently dressed in a fine matching set of black silk shirt and trousers, with a pair of black dragon hide boots. If anyone saw him, they would assume he was a natural born wizard, from a high ranking family. His hair had been styled backwards, but still had an untamed nature to it.

"Let's get down to business then. I am sure you are busy preparing for the trip to Hogwarts, but I thought it would be wise to have a business meeting before you go, because there may be difficulties in ensuring effective communication," Bloodmoon stated.

"Thank you, I agree completely. It would be wise to have some type of policy or plan just in case I can't be reached for whatever reason," Harry replied.

Bloodmoon responded by handing Harry a file filled with documents saying, "This file contains your current Potter household dealings as well as holdings. I've done a primary investigation and found a degree of corruption in the higher management of these businesses. Some are siphoning funds out of their profits into their own private accounts, whilst other businesses are just being run by incompetent staffs, hence they have been fired and their accounts are under investigation. Depending on what is found, we should have answers by the New Year, spring at the latest. The figures are shown on pages 5 and 6."

Bloodmoon paused to allow Harry to turn the pages before saying, "Under correct management and oversight we should increase profits in these businesses. We also found several business or firms that weren't rebuilt after the last war; hence these markets have been taken over. Pages 8-12 should contain the details; a key example of this is the Potter Docks in Edinburgh. After suffering a major death eater attack during the last war they were never rebuilt. Since this was biggest port in north, most of the business from the surrounding alleys have moved south or were forced to close due to the need for docks to import the raw materials, to stay profitable and competitive with their rivals."

Harry just nodded, it was a lot to take in, he was grateful for the report that Bloodmoon had prepared. "Anything else?" he asked.

"Simply put, the businesses are a mess. Combined with the investigation into your magical guardian; it's just one big pile of legal paper trails. It may take most of next year to fix the majority of your current business holdings. However, I have made a couple of small scale investments for the Peverell account into some minor real estate, basically small magical family homes. Also, I have a couple of proposals for additional investments for the Peverell account if you are interested?" Bloodmoon asked, handing over a new list.

Looking over the list, he didn't recognize the two businesses listed, but he could look up the businesses at a later date. After all, Bloodmoon was working for him, it wouldn't be in his interest to harm him. Looking up at Bloodmoon he responded, "If you believe that these businesses are good investments, then I'll follow your advice." Rereading the names, '_Greenfinger Herblore' _and '_Terra-Green Conservatorium_' he asked, "Anything else I should know about these businesses?"

Bloodmoon took a minute to form an accurate reply without revealing too much information about another goblin's client. "Both businesses are profitable; they primarily deal with the selling of common potions and ingredients. They have been around for a good 250 years each, but they are selling these shares because of financial debts. I can't say more, due to laws, but the client wants a private sale and I was approached by their manger since I was discreetly inquiring about possible investments."

Harry just nodded, "Alright, I understand. Can you send me a note confirming the sale, and any extra information after the sale is completed?"

"Indeed, I'll see to it," Bloodmoon replied.

"Ok, I assume that is everything I need to know, or is there anything else?" Harry asked, because he doubted Bloodmoon would keep him around just to chat.

"I believe were done for today. I will contact you if I see any other investments that may be of interest," the account manager replied.

"Ok, good day Bloodmoon, may your gold flow and your enemies bleed," answered Harry rising from his chair, shocking the manager with his knowledge of their tongue. He silently thanked his mother for her foresight in providing basic cultural reference books.

* * *

><p><strong>Hogwarts Express -Harry Pov 1st Sep <strong>

Harry made his way to the local train station and purchased a one-way ticket to London. Fortunately, the train had just finished unloading so he could board immediately. As he rode the train he let his mind wander, slipping into his newly formed codex. Unsurprisingly, it had taken the form of a library, which had been the only place he felt safe in his childhood.

Continuing to sort his recollections into tomes, the only defences he had was a locking charm on the door that guarded the way into 'his codex,' and the mass of negative memories he placed in the surrounding tomes.

Returning fully to the waking world was an interesting experience, especially waking up to see a business women sitting across from him reading a newspaper. Harry realized quickly just how much visiting one's own codex left you open to attack by anyone. It was a bit like waking from a daydream and being asked to give an answer, but never having heard the question in the first place.

King's Cross Station was probably one of the busiest places in all of London. It was full of regular people going about their lives, rushing around to catch their trains.

He had never had a reason to go to King's Cross personally, so this was his first visit to the famous train station. This explained his awed and wary state of mind as he took in the sights and sounds of the place, whilst trying not to be knocked down by the moving crowds. He never had been one for crowds, always preferring his own company over others.

Following the instructions on his letter, he slowly made his way over to Platform 9¾, which was strangely quite compared to the rest of the station. Looking up at a massive clock he saw he was nearly an hour early. He walked through the barrier to reveal an old steam train coated in red and gold paint, with a couple of early families on platform. His first impression was it was bit over the top, very grand, but if he was going to venture a guess, it was intended to impress new generations of magicals and make a statement.

Most of the compartments were empty, as was to be expected. Choosing a compartment, he brought his trunk out from his back pocket and with tap of his wand enlarged it. Then, he quickly changed into his Hogwarts robes as well as choosing a runes theory textbook to read to help pass the time, since the journey to Hogwarts would take most of the day.

His mother's notes had said that runes had many uses, mainly for warding structures and rituals. He would need an understanding of runes if he wished for his mind to be more secure against possible attacks.

Getting himself comfortable, he tried to read, however his attention kept slipping to the families on the platform. Watching them he couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like with his own family. He missed his parents a lot, but he would make sure their sacrifice didn't go in vain.

However, activity suddenly increased on the platform focusing around a family he noticed contained a kid with a lightning bolt scar on forehead, before recalling it was the so called **Boy-Who-Lived**, Neville Longbottom. He was followed closely by a regal-looking old woman who was pushing her charge forward, ignoring the gaggle of fans, with a ginger haired family close behind them. He had read that the boy's parents had died the night that the Dark Lord had finally been defeated; he already disliked the boy, whose fame was bought with his parent's death.

Turning back to his book, silently making a vow to never be his friend as long the boy's behaviour was as arrogant as had been displayed on the platform.

Some time passed before there was a knock on door, followed by the door opening. He looked up from the book at what appeared to be twin girls of Indian decent. The first girl asked, "Do you mind if we join you?"

His first thought was to say no, so he could return to book in peace. He didn't really want them distracting him since it was turning out to be a good book and all his previous experience with the fairer sex had resulted in him having to pretend to be interested in their gossip, while at the same time getting a headache.

However, the logical part of his mind quickly made the argument that he would have to spend the next 7 years with them, so making a good first impression would be to his advantage. Especially if it meant more positive gossip, rather than having to deal with negative rumours, like he had endured while living with his relatives.

"Please do," he replied, standing up while gesturing to the seats. He made the effort to help them with their trunks, using a basic levitation charm he had learned earlier saying, "Harry James Potter, Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter," whilst placing a light kiss on the hand of each girl as instructed by his books on magical culture.

"Parvati Patil," the first one responded before gesturing to her sister behind her, "this is my sister Padma," who gave a small smile in greeting. The trio slipped into conversation, during which Harry quickly learned that their family originated in India, but their father had came over to Britain to look after family trade interests on his own father's behalf, as well as acting in the role of an unofficial ambassador. Throughout the conversation it became clear that Parvati was the more talkative of the twins, while Padma answered questions in more detail.

However, during the one-side conversation, Parvati asked a question he been hoping to avoid, "Harry, what do your mother and father to do?" Taking a moment to respond, in an emotionless tone he said, "I am an orphan, my parents were murdered in the closing days of the last war. Since then, I have lived with my mother's relatives, both of whom are non-magical," before turning back to his book, leaving the two girls to talk amongst themselves, since he was no longer in the mood for small talk.

During the journey to Hogwarts, a blonde haired girl named Lavender Brown entered the compartment and immediately began talking to the twins, primarily focusing on Parvati, making it obvious the girls knew each other.

He listened in with one ear while reading; he could review memory later that evening. During the journey he noticed Padma had also taken out a book. The rest of journey passed by without any major incidents, expect for an arrogant blonde haired fool interrupting his reading. This resulted in Harry sending a small fist sized bluebell fire ball at the boy, quickly causing him flee the compartment.

However, this resulted in a ginger haired prefect and a hazelnut blonde haired girl with an hourglass figure turning up to 'try' to give him a dressing down for his behaviour, while the blonde boy watched with amusement. During this dressing down, Harry couldn't help but reflect on what he had discovered about his own magic, since getting his wand. Fire spells were far less difficult for him, and they felt more natural.

Deciding he had enough of the red head, and really wanting to put him in his place, he stopped the boy's speech mid-flow saying, "Do you ever shut up? It was only a bluebell fireball, if I want to hurt the brat I would have. At worst, that charm will give him a minor burn mark that would be gone in less than a day. The way you are going on, you make it sound like I tried to kill the prat. Go and waste someone else's time, I have better things do," before turning back to his book.

The girl responded before the ginger haired boy got a chance by placing a hand on his arm saying, "Let's go Percy, we can inform the staff and let them handle it," before walking away from the compartment, resulting in Percy following her out.

The train began slowing down, and a voice echoed through the train, "We will be reaching Hogwarts in ten minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately." The train finally stopped and they got out of it along with hundreds of other students.

When Harry got out of the train he heard a series of calls, "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" Walking in the direction of the calling, he saw a giant of a man. "All right there, Harry?" the giant of man in front of Harry said, whilst beaming a big smile down at him across the crowd of students.

Harry couldn't remember ever meeting the fellow, who seemed familiar, but he knew he would recall meeting anyone of that size. After all, it's hard to forget someone that large.

Looking up at the giant of man, causing the girls to stop, he asked, "Have we meet before, I can't seem to recall you?"

The giant of man seem to recoil before responding. His tone was one of hurt at Harry's comment, "I knew your parents. My name is Hagrid and I often saw you whenever your parents came to Hogwarts on business and order meetings," before suddenly stopping, realizing he had said something he wasn't meant to.

Harry quickly realized what Hagrid had meant by order meetings. He recalled his mother's journals had mentioned something about an order, but he couldn't recall all the details, due to not having his codex set up yet. He made a mental note to reread his mother's journals at the earliest opportunity, in case he had missed something.

It also explained why Hagrid seemed familiar, looking up he decided to throw the guy a bone, since he obviously was trusted by his parents. "It's nice to meet you again, Hagrid, maybe we can have a lunch one day and chat, after all we are old friends," he said, followed by a smile.

Hargid seemed to beam at his response, before saying in a cheerful tone, "That'd be nice. I'll send you an owl sometime after you've settle in," before remembering his current task, leading the gathered first year students. "C'mon, follow me. Any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me"

They followed him through the darkness, along the path, until they reached a series of small boats. "No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called out to them, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.

Harry made the effort of helping the girls into the boat, holding their hands to escort them on board. After all, he had to maintain the impression of being a proper heir, plus it would curry more favour with them.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a whole boat to himself, "Right then – FORWARD!"

The fleet of little boats moved off all at once, slowly gliding across the smooth surface of the lake. Everyone was silent, staring up at the giant castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff. They all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

They clambered up a passageway in the cavern, following after Hagrid, until at last coming out onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? Good," Hagrid said, before raising a gigantic fist and knocking three times on the castle door.

As soon as he knocked the door swung open to reveal Professor McGonagall with a stern expression on face. She led them into an empty chamber near the Great Hall and explained that houses acted like a family, and that there were four houses. She said that they were going to be sorted in a few minutes and with that went inside the Great Hall.

He heard a boy from across the mass of students say that his older brothers had told him they would have to fight a troll, and heard the so called Boy-Who-Lived respond he doubted that was the case.

He decide to let slip how they were sorted, it would help create an impression of being knowledgeable and would curry favour with the first generation magical by calming their fears. Speaking in a calm voice, so that he sounded as if he was stating facts out of a book, "He's right, they sort us by our personally traits and abilities. We go into the house that best suits us, out of the four. They use an artefact created by founders." He looked over his future classmates before continuing, "The idea of fighting a troll is really stupid, a troll would kill us easily, and then how could we learn magic?" he asked, seeing a series of nods in agreement.

His statement made the red head blush, while causing several other students to let out a sigh of relief, while the rest seemed to be weighing him. These students obviously had similar information about how they were sorted. However, before anyone could ask him how he knew that, about twenty ghosts appeared out of nowhere.

They were pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first-years. Harry wasn't surprised because he had read about them in a book, but watching them for the first time was an experience on its own. They seemed to be arguing; the one which looked like a fat monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance."

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost. I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first-years.

Nobody answered. Most were too busy staring open-mouthed at the ghosts.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be sorted, I suppose?"

A few of them nodded mutely, whilst others stayed silent.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now,'" said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now form a line and follow me," said Professor McGonagall to the first-years.

Excitement and anticipation filled him; he really wanted to know how he would be sorted, because labels never really fit him. He stepped into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Padma behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

The books didn't do the Great Hall justice. The Great Hall was lit by thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets.

At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first-years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the teachers.

All four tables were looking at them, hundreds of faces staring at them, watching them. Dotted here and there among the students were the ghosts. Harry looked upwards to study the famous ceiling of Hogwarts' Great Hall. It was very beautiful indeed, like you were looking at the real sky. He was not the only one who was looking at the ceiling, and Harry heard a girl whisper about reading about the ceiling in "_Hogwarts: A History."_

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-years. On the top of the stool, she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.

When everyone was silent the hat began to sing:

'_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, _

_But don't judge on what you see. _

_I'll eat myself if you can find _

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall._

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The sorting Hat can't see, _

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart._

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil._

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning, _

_Will always find their kind._

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends, _

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a thinking cap!'_

The whole Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the hour tables and then became quite still again. Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said, and then she started calling out names. Several students were eyeing him, realizing he was correct.

Every time someone was sorted, the table of the chosen house would erupt in cheers.

During his wait for his own name, he started taking a mental picture of each student as they sat on stool and were sorted into their house. He decided that building a mental profile of each individual would be of benefit when dealing with them, after all knowledge was power, and all the great wizards were genius in their own rights and experts in their fields of magic.

While watching, he was also in an internal debate over which house he would be in. He immediately ruled out Hufflepuff, he knew he was hard working in achieving his own objectives, but he knew he had trust issues after suffering at his relatives. Gryffindor was next to be ruled out since he was not brave by default or impulsive, nor was he noble and moral. He himself knew his being a gentleman to the girls on the train had been an act to curry favour. His only reason to want to be in Gryffindor was his parent's connection to the house of brave, and his family history of being warriors and fighters.

So that left Ravenclaw and Slytherin. He could see he fitted into both houses in equal measure, but he was leaning towards Ravenclaw, since he always considered knowledge the ultimate tool in life, and was interested in understanding the world. It also helped that he saw the blonde boy from train being sorted into the Slytherin house. He doubted he would last to the end of the month before putting the boy in his place, however his own self analysis was interrupted as his name was called out.

"Harry Potter"

He started walking towards the stool, back straight, shoulders back, emotionless mask in place, at a firm pace, that showed neither eagerness nor reluctance. Sitting on the stool, there was a whispering in his mind as the hat was placed on his head, realizing the hat used a form of mind arts in its decision making.

"I see you already debated your own merits and traits, but let me have look and see if I agree," the Hat whispered before diving deeper into his codex, viewing his memories further. "Let's see this mind of yours."

"Hmm, your loyalty is limited to those you consider friends and allies. Everyone else doesn't matter to you and is expendable, so Hufflepuff is out. Similarly, you are very brave, would face any challenge to get to your goal, but your decisions would be driven by strategy and planned out before hand, which rules out Gryffindor. That leaves Slytherin and Ravenclaw. You are very resourceful when you need to be. You are most definitely cunning, sly and ambitious to prove your worth, with the burning desire for revenge, perfect for Slytherin," pausing, obviously waiting to see Harry's reaction to his statement before continuing.

"You just want to be the best wizard that you could be, but if there is an enemy you can be very ruthless. You are already planning your revenge on your relatives for your mistreatment," the hat whispered.

Before he could respond to the hat's claims, the hat answered his unasked question, "No need to fear, everything I see is private. Many have darks thoughts of revenge against rivals and foes, but most never act on it. If I told on everyone, the school would be half its current size," once again pausing before continuing to whisper.

"You are very well suited for Slytherin. Hmm…..your mind is very good. You are sharp and can think on your feet. You treasure your knowledge and are proud of it. You want to make sure that you are ready for anything so studies will always be at the top of your priority list; you believe knowledge is power, and wisdom is gained from knowledge, so you are suitable for Ravenclaw too. I expect if I unleashed you into Slytherin house that a number of accidents would happen after what I've seen in their heads, so that leaves... **RAVENCLAW,**" the hat shouted out, causing Ravenclaw table to clap in response. Taking a place next to Padma, he listened carefully as the rest of the names were called out and sorted in their houses, before listening half-heartedly to the Headmaster's welcoming speech.

As dinner appeared, the tables erupted into small talk. Harry made polite small talk, not really being interested in making friends straight away based on first encounters, preferring to wait and judge his fellow house mate before deciding their worth.

As dinner was finishing the Headmaster rose once again, while all the food vanished.

"Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few start-of-term notices to give you," he said in grandfatherly tone.

"The first-years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. A few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the ginger haired twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all, that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch."

"And finally, I must tell you that this year; the third floor corridor on the right-hand side of the castle is out of bounds, to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death," he said in a most serious tone.

'Now that's stupid, half the lions will be running to third floor now, but the Headmaster is possibly covering his ass in case they do die a painful death,' he thought before his internal dialogue ended as the whole school erupted in song. He decided to stay quiet, since he wasn't about to made fool of himself trying to sing a song he never heard before.

Everybody finished the song at different times. At the end, only the ginger haired twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" he said dismissing them all from the hall.

Ravenclaw prefects ordered the first years to follow them. They walked past suits of armour, around corners, up stairs. The castle was almost like a maze in its own right. He was wondering just how much further they had to go, before they came to a sudden halt. There was a door in front of them. There was no keyhole and no handle; nothing but a plain expanse of aged wood and a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

The female prefect he recognised from the train turned towards them and said, "This is the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower. You have to knock and the door guardian will ask a question or a riddle, which you will have to answer, otherwise you won't gain entrance. If you don't know the answer, wait for another student to come along or go to our Head of House." She proceeded to give them a demonstration and after giving the right answer, the door knocker let them pass.

Harry pushed past his first year peers and got his first glimpse of the Ravenclaw common room. The room could be best described as an "airy" room with many arched windows overlooking the surrounding mountains, all hung with heavy bronze and blue curtains, matching their house colours. The ceiling was domed and painted blue with twinkling stars on it. The floor was covered by midnight-blue carpet, completing the "Ravenclaw" look about the place.

The room was filled with fat and cushy armchairs that looked quite comfortable to just sit at and read a book. The room also seemed to be circular in shape, showing that it was indeed on the inside of the Ravenclaw tower, while there were several stairs leading up to the student dorms. There was a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw beside the entrance to the dorm, one of the Hogwarts four founders and the founder of Ravenclaw house.

"Impressive," he said, taking in the sight of the common room.

The male prefect nodded in agreement, before calling for their attention, "Ravens are famed for our knowledge, and as such we have our own rooms, while other houses have to share. This is so you can read, study, and practise your skills without disturbing your house mates. Your rooms are basic; this is intentional so they can be customized and to encourage you to learn charms and spells to make these rooms your own over the next 7 years."

Pausing before continuing his speech, "Each year has its own group study period, along with their own older student, acting as a mentor, who will be tasked with helping you." He gestured to the surrounding Ravens, who were watching their new household mates with interest.

"Now, the girl's dorms are over there," the prefect said, pointing to a set of stairs, then pointing at another set in the other corner, "And those are the guy's dorms. While I remember, I suggest you reread your potion books, because our potion master loves to take house points for failing to answer his questions fully and correctly." He then dismissed them to find their own rooms.

Walking up the stairs to the dorms with the rest of the first year males, he realized that they were on first floor of the tower, since they were lowest in the pecking order in the nest.

He quickly found his room, which itself was bare. The bed was impressive, with desk and work area in the corner and another door leading to a small wash room. Noticing his trunk in corner, he brought out the books he had been planning to read, as well as all his potions material before setting down on the bed to reread his first year potions book, as the fifth year had recommended.

During the process of reading his potion books, he filed the information away in his codex. It was a slow process, but after two hours of reading he had completed half the book. During the process he added an ingredient section to his library between herbology and potions, since both groups of information supported each other.

Then, he went to a new section of his codex, where memories of the sorting were floating around unorganised, quickly making an individual book for each of the students and placing them in order of house and year. He didn't spend much time putting the books into order and viewing memories of each person, due to it nearly being midnight, before deciding to leave this task till the weekend and falling into welcome sleep.

**Next Morning**

Harry woke up early, with the sun's first beams coming through the window. The night had been restless, due to his internal excitement at finally being able to attend school and learn at the hands some of best teachers in the world.

Taking out a couple vials of potions from his trunk, he downed the foul liquid without a second thought. He could easily ignore the horrible taste if it meant he could undo a decade of damage. Then, he dropped to floor to do some sit ups and push ups, only managing to do 15 of each before lying on the floor resting his weak frame.

Noticing it was almost time for breakfast, he made his way over to the washroom for a quick shower, before putting on his robes and tying his untameable hair back. He hoped by growing it out, it would help make his hair more manageable.

Checking himself in mirror before heading down to common room, he sat down in the corner waiting for rest of his years mates to arrive. Realizing he was still a little early, he slipped into his codex, doing nothing but clearing his mind of the 'dust,' after all it wouldn't do to be 'slow' in his classes.

* * *

><p><strong>End of chapter<strong>


	5. Y1 Wards, Plans, Chocolate Frogs

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure yet if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings yet.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note: **the original copy was 3.1k words, now it's over 5.9k words, I hope you like the new edition.

**The Forgotten Lord - Chapter 5: ****Wards, Plans and Chocolate Frogs**

**Originally Posted on ****21st Feb**** 2012.**

**Second Edition ****Revised and Beta by ****BuckeyeForLife**** on**** 05th November 2012**

**Headmaster Pov - September 1****st**

Looking around the chamber with weary eyes, his trap was almost set. All too soon he would know the truth for sure. He walked around the chamber carefully examining the runes engraved on the different surfaces. It had been well over a decade since he had undertaken such a massive project, even with his assistant's help. For months they had been working in secret, gathering the necessary resources, labouring away and refining their trap.

Albus reached into his pocket and pulled out one of his favourite sweets, before popping the lemon drop into his mouth as he reflected on the events that had unfolded earlier that evening. Neville had been sorted as he intended, though he could have modified his plans easily enough; if on the off chance young Neville had been sorted into any other house. Thankfully that was unnecessary now that the boy was a Gryffindor. Now he could focus on shaping and moulding him into the noble hero the world would need, for when Lord Voldemort finally returned.

All in all, it was a good sign that his plans were developing as intended. Now he just had to wait for Tom to make his move. After all, the Philosopher's Stone by itself would be more than a tempting prize, with its promise of eternal life. Tom had always been obsessed with escaping death, ever since finding out about his mother's death. Hence, it was the perfect bait, but the chance to kill the boy as well? That would be just too good for the fallen Dark Lord to pass up. The old muggle saying about killing two birds with one stone fit the situation perfectly.

Of course he planned to have boy monitored constantly. Already, the boy had several health monitoring spells and tracking charms on him, which had been discreetly cast during the welcoming feast. Naturally it was not a perfect solution to allow him to monitor Neville, but it was the best available without alerting the boy to fact he was being monitored and watched. At least now he could find the boy at a moment's notice, if need be. After all, it wouldn't do for the boy to be harmed, outside the controlled conditions of the classroom.

He thought again about the boy, whom for over a decade now had been influencing his decisions because of his future role in defeating the Dark Lord. Not that he was 100% sure about the whole ordeal, since the future was never set in stone. But it was clear so far that events were unfolding as the prophecy described. After all, Neville had been marked by Tom. Once again he came to the same conclusion, as he had many times before, of testing and shaping Neville, whilst making his own plans in case the Prophecy proved false.

Of course, it was the only sensible thing to do; he couldn't put all his eggs in one basket, even if a Prophecy said otherwise. All he could do was subtly guide and influence Neville, into a hero the world may need one day. After all, all heroes need a helping hand at some point, to pick them up when they fall down, to direct them, and to send them on their life journey, just like the heroes of old.

He couldn't help but smile fondly at such thoughts; it reminded him of his own adventures in his youthful days. Mentally shaking his head, he snapped his thoughts away from his youth. Now wasn't the time, he needed to focus on the present.

He needed to shape Neville in such a way that the boy would want to stand and fight. Neville would have to face challenges and seek out adventure all on his own, and of course he would be the wise, grandfatherly sage that Neville could come to for guidance.

Albus couldn't help but smile at the idea of his own role in the upcoming years, if he was indeed successful. He could even surpass Merlin himself in fame. Thinking over the traps and challenge set up the in rooms leading to the Chamber, he wondered if Neville would seek the stone out on his own, or if he would need to be encouraged. Would Neville then attempt to protect it, as he hoped? Or keep it for himself out of greed? This would be his first test.

All heroes can fall from the path if the right temptation is offered, hence the need to understand the boy's strengths and weakness, so he could take them into account in his plans. He needed to prevent Neville's possible fall to dark side. However, his thoughts were interrupted as the door opened as his assistant arrived.

Eyeing his assistant and ally in his plans, who had his classic blank expression, "Good evening Severus, I trust your first years are settling in well?" he enquired.

"Indeed Albus," taking his place across from him while examining the room, before turning back to the face him, "Are you sure about this? Is it wise to use the stone as bait? Surly there must be another way," the potion master argued, whilst examining the rune crafting work, which he had assisted the Headmaster with for the last several weeks.

"Severus, we must know," he stressed for the hundredth time. "The stone is the perfect bait to lure him out of hiding. If this traps works as planned, we have some of the answers we desperately need to ensure he dies, permanently this time."

Examining the potions master, whilst he thought over his words he added, "Also, if everything goes as planned we can get our hands on the stone, remember? After all, you yourself Severus, have argued that it would help us with our cause in the years ahead. We will need the gold to counter Tom's promises of rewards to secure allies and equip our fighters. Also, the stone will give us the advantage of having our youth back. You know as well as I do my friend that my body is getting old and succumbing to age. I need my youth back if I am to stand against the upcoming storm," he stressed, remembering the last war and its demands on his health.

The Headmaster took a breath, before saying in a lower tone, "Your potions are weakening in effectiveness and I need my strength back, will power and resolve can only do so much," he said, admitting his weakness to his friend.

"Also, think about how many of our comrades we can save from certain death. How many of our friends could return to their families? Besides, you want to unravel its mysteries do you not?" Albus questioned, knowing that this was one of the potion master's deepest wishes.

Severus just nodded, accepting the point before responding, "Then I suggest we increase the difficulty of the traps, unless you still plan to use this as a chance to test Longbottom's abilities?"

"Indeed, I intended to test Neville and the prophecy," Albus answered. "The wards, when completed throughout these chambers will be more than enough to protect the stone. And I would rather not risk the chance of a student being killed by mistake. The mirror itself will be by far a suitable final defence; we just have to wait for it to arrive. Besides, the wards will deny anyone access beyond the door, they are only keyed to not respond to first year students. Everyone else will have to contend with the wards, which would take a team of curse breakers several days to get past," he said, trying to reassure the younger man.

"I hope you are right Albus, I really do," the potion master said seriously, before examining the room again. "I take it you have completed the final set of power draining wards throughout these rooms? After all, if we are wrong we could bring the war about far sooner than we are ready for."

"You are right Severus, but it is a calculated risk. Even a wizard as knowledgeable as Lord Voldemort will be pushed to his limits in his weakened state. Combined with the traps and puzzles, the wards will surely drain our target of his energy, allowing for his capture."

Both of them started walking through the rooms, examining the traps and puzzles, as well as activating the wards as they went. They finally arrived at the entrance room, where a rather tame Cerberus was currently chained up, acting as guard dog.

"Albus, it's just occurred to me. Maybe we can erect a fear inducing ward in this room, to ensure that only the bravest will attempt to seek the stone," Severus said whilst examining the three headed dog. "After all, Hargid's Cerberus is all bark and no bite. The ward will help ensure the wrong first years are not tempted to try their luck. If needs be, we can always reduce the wards effects later to encourage Longbottom."

"Indeed, that is a wonderful idea," the Headmaster replied, deciding to act on the suggestion. He summoned his wand to hand and started making several complex wand movements. After several minutes, he finally finished casting the ward throughout the room, resulting in an unnatural glow to emit from the walls as the room sank into darkness, whilst sending out a feeling of dread and potential danger.

Looking over at the chained Cerberus, his old heart skipped a beat. The beast was now looking far more formidable than before, with its three sets of glowing yellow eyes and saliva dripping off of its' razor sharp teeth.

Leaving the entrance room with his assistant in tow the Headmaster said, "Now Severus, I believe our work is done for this evening. I will cast a detection ward on the door, to inform me if it is opened. There is no point in you staying to watch, you should get an early night and get ready for your classes."

"Don't remind me," Severus snapped back at him, clearly annoyed, before walking silently off down the corridor back to his office in the dungeons.

"Good night," Albus said, his voice echoing down the halls.

Watching Severus walk off into the darkness of the school halls, he finally understood how Severus was thought to be a vampire by the students. 'He really does look like a bat at times like this', he thought, causing him to smile, releasing some of the tension he had been feeling.

He decided to get started; there was still paperwork he had to do before he could retire for the evening. "So much to do, so little time," he said aloud, to no one but himself, before starting to cast some of the final wards.

**The Midnight Lord**

Harry rested on his bed, enjoying the peace and quiet for a change now that the day was over. This gave him a chance to reflect on everything that had happened since that first evening.

The first couple days were amazing; they just flew by in a mix of excitement and awe. Even if most of the lessons were just introductions to the courses, basic lectures on what the subject was about and the planned material for the upcoming year; it did nothing to kill his excitement.

The only subject that was disappointing was History of Magic, which was taught by the ghost of the former History teacher who had happened to die during his sleep.

Professor Cuthbert Binns seemed to have permanently cast a sleeping spell over the room, and all the students in it, even he himself wasn't immune! This frankly was a bit of a disappointment, since he considered himself a rather good amateur historian. After all, he had read most of the history section at his local library during his time living with his relatives.

Ultimately, he ended up asking several older Ravenclaws about the ghost during lunch time. Frankly their advice wasn't promising, it turned out that it happened to everyone Most of them ended up doing self study instead and just skipped History all together, before dropping the subject later rather than endure the ghost. Others charmed their quills to write down the notes for them instead. Unfortunately the charm wasn't taught until the end of the fourth year, which didn't help solve his problem.

Fortunately, Herbology had turned out to be far more interesting than he had originally expected. The subject was taught by Professor Pomona Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff House.

Professor Sprout seemed a rather easy going person, which in hindsight should have been expected. She was a person of the earth, who clearly embodied her house's values of fair play and hard work. Listening to her lectures on magical plants, it was clear that they were her passion and it explained why she was considered one of leading experts on British magical flora.

The highlight of the lesson came from the Slytherin students, and how they reacted to the thought of getting their hands dirty. Thinking about it again caused him to chuckle quietly at the memory of the day's event. Their reactions made it clear which of them could be considered spoiled and who had relied on their servants for such tasks.

However, their reaction was even stronger when Professor Sprout ordered them to pair up with another student from a different house in order to promote student unity and encourage the seeds of friendship. A couple low voices whispered complaints about being partnered up with their Ravenclaw counterparts. He heard one say, "Wait till my father hears about this." Fortunately, he and Padma were paired up with a couple of Slytherins who were the exceptions to this rule. His partner ended up being a blonde girl named Daphne, while Padma was paired with a Slytherin named Tracy.

The two groups went about their collective tasks, which made it clear in hindsight that both Tracy and Daphne had previous experience in magical gardening. He had managed to scrape by, mainly due to his own previous experience from maintaining his relative's garden. After all, a plant was a plant. He had mainly followed Daphne's lead, due to her more extensive knowledge of magical plants. By the end of the lesson, both of them had earned good number of house points since they, unlike other pairs, just got to work rather than bickering over the task. During the task they made minor small talk, nothing personal, just light talk to help pass the time while working.

Looking back on the lesson, he was more than willing to admit he was grateful for being paired up with a partner that he could actually work with. It was a small blessing, and it made it easier to be motivated for class when your partner wasn't a pain in the backside.

Frankly, Harry didn't know what he would have done if he had been stuck working with the brat he had met on train. He actually felt sorry for Terry for having to work with him. If he was in Terry's position, he probably would have ended up jinxing him, or asking whether he could work by himself rather than suffering the brat's company.

**The Next Day**

Finally, they were heading to the class he was most looking forward too, Charms. The class was taught by his Head of House, Professor Filius Flitwick, Charms Master of Hogwarts and retired duellist.

Professor Flitwick was short, only about four foot in height and from what he had heard from his fellow housemates this was due to him being part goblin. This was extremely odd, due to how rare inter-species marriages were, to the point of being nearly unheard of, in British culture.

Harry took a seat at the front of the class, so he could see better and was joined by Padma. After a couple minutes, the Professor walked in and jumped up onto a stack of books, before beginning his introduction speech about the subject and the material, just like the other professors.

Watching his Head of House, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of the little professor balancing on books, trying not to fall off.

When his name was finally called out of the register, the Professor literally jumped in excitement. However, this display of energy, whilst embarrassing for him also resulted in Professor Flitwick losing his balance, sending the book stack scattering across the floor.

The tiny professor however, showed his former duelling skills by landing gracefully like a cat, getting him a round of applause from the students.

Whilst the professor recovered and composed himself, several other students in the class were looking at Harry with curious eyes. They were clearly wondering why his name had triggered such an energetic response from the professor. He knew the reason the Professor was excited about seeing him, since his mother had been one of Flitwick's favourites during her school days. She had eventually gone on to get her Charm's Mastery under the professor's guidance after completing her NEWTs.

After seeing Flitwick's response, he hoped he could live up to his mother's legacy. Leaning over to Padma, he whispered in explanation, "My mother was one of his favourite students during her time at Hogwarts. Under his guidance, my mother went on to get her Charm's Mastery, and became an Unspeakable." This answered the unspoken question he could see in her features.

"Cool, so he probably has a soft spot for you then," she said with smile.

"Maybe, we will see how it goes. Hopefully I can live up to his expectations," he admitted.

However, before Padma could reply, Flitwick started going through the class register again. After the register was completed, Harry listened with interest as the professor showed several of the charms they would be learning over the course of year, which was received with a series of "awws" from some students.

Watching the professor, he could remember reading about the spells on display, and the theory behind them. Smiling as he watched, Harry felt confident that he would live up to his Head of House's expectations. After all, he had already managed to cast several of them before coming Hogwarts. Right then and there, he made a silent promise to himself to learn the rest of first year spells by Christmas.

The first half of the class was about the theory behind the basic Lumos light charm. Professor Flitwick stated it would take a couple of lessons to master the charm, simply due to their lack of the necessary experience and focus required to control their magic. Naturally their work rate would increase as they progressed through the school year, due to their magic becoming easier for them to wield.

All too soon the classroom was filled with students shouting, "Lumos," in an attempt to create a light on the tip of their wands. They began to shout louder as their frustration increased, in a vain attempt to force the spell to work, not realizing it would make no difference.

However, having already learnt the spell he whispered the incantation, "Lumos," whilst visualizing a bright light coming from end of his wand. Just like he had practised over the summer and in his dorm room since arriving at Hogwarts, his wand pulsed into life, flooding the room with light. The sudden light took the room by surprised, causing the Professor Flitwick to jump up in excitement, giving him the image of a kid who had eaten too much sugar.

"Impressive Mr Potter, just like your mother. Have you cast the spell before?" Flitwick asked, observing him with interest and excitement.

Seeing he had the whole class observing him, he decided a half truth would be best for the time being, since doing magic outside of school was against the law. And frankly he didn't want to reveal the fact that his summer residence had been warded, so he could practise magic without being detected. Even if the underage magic law didn't apply to him, due to him being a lord, but he wasn't going to tell anyone about it.

"Yes, I tried the spell last night in my dorm room, before turning in for the night." Seeing the professor nod Harry continued, "However, before coming to Hogwarts, I read most of the theory text books for first year charms. I also read some of my mother's own charms books," which caused Flitwick to glow with interest. "After all, I wanted to ensure that I was properly prepared."

"Excellent, can you explain the secret of charms for your classmates?" his Head of House questioned, checking to see if he had indeed read the text.

"Ok. First, most charms are not about power itself, nor emotions. They are instead driven by your own focus and intent. You have to visualize the spells effects and the results in your mind, if you wish the spell to work," he lectured, seeing the professor nod. "The Lumos spell is one of the simplest charms around, due to it not requiring any wand movements to define and shape the spell. All you have to do really is visualize the spell, and its effects. Hence the reason it's a first year spell, because the effects are easy to visualize and there is no wand movement to be confused with."

Picking up his wand and turning to face his classmates, he faintly whispered, "Lumos," focusing on the mental image of light at his wand point, whilst pulling up memories of his previous successes.

His wand once again pulsed into life, creating a light on the tip of his wand. "This spell is also considered useful for learning control, during the early stages of learning magic," he explained to the class. He increased the power flowing into the spell to illustrate his point, feeling energy following through him, causing the light to brighten again.

"As you can see, I did not need to shout the incantation, I whispered it. Using one's voice to control the spell's power levels is but the first step in mastering a spell. After years of practise, you don't need any words to casts simple spells such as this; all it takes is a disciplined mind. At NEWT levels, silent casting becomes required for some classes such as DADA, and is encouraged in other classes. However, do not panic or worry if you can't do it, even some adults find it extremely difficult to cast silently. The spells that you eventually end up casting silently, will be the spells you use the most often," he said before cancelling the spell, and turning back to face his professor, who was sporting a massive grin after hearing his extensive explanation.

"Correct, Mr Potter. It is nice to see you have inherited your mother's talent at Charms. Take twenty points for first casting the spell and giving a wonderful explanation. Take another ten points for NEWT level knowledge," Flitwick replied gleefully, before directing the rest of class to get back to work.

"Want some help?" he asked Padma.

"Sure," she replied, "If you don't mind."

For the rest of the lesson he made an effort to help Padma, which resulted in her successfully casting the spell five minutes before the end of the class. It was faint, and lasted a faction of second before her concentration broke ending the spell, but it was all it took to get her grinning like the cat that caught the canary.

During the lesson, his Head of House quizzed him about his knowledge and about what other spells he could do. He ended up admitting that he was already capable of casting a good dozen first year spells, such as the 'colour changing one', and 'levitation spell'. He also told Flitwick his own goal of being able to successfully cast all the first year Charms spells by Christmas. By the time he was done listing the spells, as well as his own goals, his teacher seemed to be bouncing with energy.

Finally the school bell rang announcing the end of the lesson, which caused the professor to break off his questioning, in order to assign the task of practising the Lumos charm as homework. Then he finally dismissed the class so they could go down to the Great Hall for dinner.

On the way to the Great Hall, Harry caught a glimpse of the hour glasses which tracked house points. They showed that Ravenclaw was ahead of the pack, with a thirty point lead.

Harry found a free place half way down the table, near some of the older Ravenclaw students, rather than sitting with his own year group. This was mainly so he wouldn't have to make any small talk. Looking over the Great Hall, he could see Padma sitting with her sister at the Gryffindor table.

Thankfully none of the older Ravenclaws attempted to make small talk, instead only talking to him whenever they needed him to pass a plate of food. This allowed him to slip into his own little world as he thought over the day's events, leading him to realize he had told more than he originally intended to his Head of House.

By the end of dinner, most of the Ravens knew he was already one of their Head of House's new favourites. Several other first year Ravenclaw students all but demanded that he assist them in learning the spell upon their return to their common room.

His reply was short and to the point, "No."

He personally didn't care if they disliked it, as far as he was concerned every minute spent "holding their hands" meant less time he had to focus on his own studies. And he especially wasn't about to set the precedent of helping his fellow classmates if he didn't gain anything from it. Besides, if he did everything for them they would never learn to do it themselves.

He ignored their complaints and none to quiet rants. They had nothing on his relatives, whilst most of the older years just watched as the scene played out with passing interest.

After a while, he finally had enough of the not too quiet complaints, since he was finding it increasingly difficult to continue reading his Potions textbook. It was also clear that several of the older students were getting annoyed at the noise his year mates were creating by their complaining.

Finally, his patience snapped. "What do I gain by spending my time helping you? What can you offer me? Every minute I spend helping you, means less time I can spend improving my own skills," he stated angrily, his temper flaring, watching some his year mate's recoil from his sudden outburst.

"What point is there in me doing the work for you? I won't be there in the examinations to hold your hands and tell you what to do!" he exclaimed, watching as some of them sank into their seats, whilst other faces flushed red with anger, before continuing, "If you are having problems, go and fucking see a teacher instead of harassing me! It's not my job to help you!" Harry took a couple deep breaths to calm himself.

"So instead of sitting there and complaining about me not helping you, why don't you make an effort to help yourselves? Surly you can open your charms books and learn more about casting the spell? Surly you are smart enough to be able to open a book?" he challenged, seeing some of the flash red in either anger or embarrassment, whilst the rest of the house just watched the unfolding drama.

"Before you go on and claim you are my friends, I only just met you two and half days ago, and I don't remember that automatically making us friends," he stated coldly, waiting for anyone to challenge him.

Pulling on his robes, to show them the house logo Harry continued, "Just because we are in the same house, does not make you my friend by default! Nor does it mean I have to help you. Most of you haven't done anything to prove yourself worthy of my time or my friendship! I only consider one of you my friend so far, and I've helped her with the spell. The rest of you have yet to prove you're worthy of my time and energy, let alone friendship."

"And with all your childish moaning, I feel even less inclined to help you. Help yourselves, don't rely on others to do it for you," he preached, before picking up his schoolbag and his books and heading up to his bedroom, so he could study in peace.

He threw himself on his bed before taking some deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. Reflecting on what he had just said, in hindsight it may have been unwise to be so direct, but he was tired and annoyed with their attitudes. Besides, he had no one to help him learn the spells. The only ones he would help would be the few that proved themselves capable.

Picking up his book, he was eager to finish the final chapter of this year's Potions material, because then he would only need it for referencing. He would also use it to help hide his developing codex from staff. They would notice if he didn't carry any books around anymore and eventually they would put two and two together.

Several minutes passed before there was a light knock on the door. Harry wondered who it could be; he had just put most of his year mates in their place. The only one he could think of was Padma, unless it was an older student. Opening the door proved he was indeed correct in his assessment.

Before he could say anything, Padma spoke in a quiet voice, the same one she used on train then she was nervous, or unsure, "May I come in?"

Weighing his options, he decided to let her in. She wasn't the cause of his annoyance and anger, and it wouldn't be fair to take it out on the girl.

"Sure, make yourself comfortable," he said, gesturing towards the bed, since the room was yet to be decorated.

Both of them made themselves as comfortable as possible, while Harry decided to let her start the chat. "Do you really consider me a friend and not some type of burden, like you implied the others are?" she asked, looking down at floor.

Harry looked her over, "Of course you are, otherwise I wouldn't have helped you in class. Out of our esteemed year mates, you are the only one that has shown any of the talents or traits I value. When we had our free period today, you were the only one that joined me in reading ahead. The rest of them just played games and joked around. And in Herbology, I saw you display insight and knowledge, whilst the others just complained and moaned about the unfairness of being partnered up with the Slytherin students."

He saw her nod before continuing, "I had no wizard to teach me before school, all my knowledge I have gained since getting my acceptance letter. I had no idea that the magical world was real before this summer."

"Really?" Padma questioned, clearly not believing that he had learnt so much in such a short space of time.

"Really, I only learned I was a wizard on my eleventh birthday. My muggle Aunt and Uncle decided to keep me in the dark about my heritage," he explained calmly, trying to keep his anger in check. "Simply put, my relatives had no desire to help me. They can't understand magic, and frankly they feared me since I can cast magic, whilst they can't."

Taking a moment to catch his breath he continued, "From the moment I was placed in their care, they forced me to become self reliant. They didn't want to help me, if I wanted to have anything I had to work for it," he said, whilst thinking that he was treated more like a slave than a child. But Padma didn't need to know that, or about the abuse he had suffered while under his relatives care.

"My childhood was far from perfect and I had to grow up fast," he explained, making it clear his upbringing wasn't normal even by non-magical standards. "Now you can understand why I am a rather cold person. It's because I have been brought up in a world where I had to rely on myself, not others. Hence, it's not in my nature to help people out of kindness of my heart. After all, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time," he said sagely, whilst watching his friend's thoughtful expression.

"Do you understand what I am trying to say?" he probed, hoping his friend could see where he was going.

Padma nodded before saying, "Yes I understand. You only help people who help themselves, and can be of value to you later."

"Now, do you want to join me in reading this potions book?" he said while making a gesture at his book on the bed side table. "After all, we have Potions tomorrow. And remember that the older students warned us about the potions master here being a bastard of a teacher," he said with a grin, trying to cheer his friend up.

"I also happen to have some chocolate frogs left from the train," he said, attempting to bribe his friend, before going over to his trunk and throwing a couple of chocolate frogs onto her lap.

Getting a smile from his friend at the gesture she said, "Sure, just let me get my book," before disappearing out of the room.

A couple minutes later she returned with her potions book in hand. As he read over the text book, adding the necessary facts to his codex, he privately wondered if the rest of first year Ravens remembered his advice about the professor. Somehow he had the feeling that they wouldn't, but that wasn't his problem, it just made him look better.

The rest of the evening passed without an interruption, both of them reading in comfortable silence. It was only broken when one of them had a question on how to pronounce a word, all the while sharing the remaining chocolate frogs. Around nine o'clock Padma started to fall to sleep, but he didn't notice until he felt her head resting on his shoulder. Letting her rest, he carried on reading and didn't wake her for another 2 hours.

Finally realizing just how late it really was, having been lost within the book, he woke her with a soft shake on the shoulder, his own shoulder aching slightly from being used as a make shift cushion. This resulted in Padma quickly fleeing the room in embarrassment, not even brothering to say good night.

He just waved his hand as she left before turning back to his own reading, saying to no one but himself, "Chocolate solves everything. Unless you happen to be overweight, then it just makes matters worse," he continued with a rather cheeky smile.

**End of Chapter**

I hope everyone likes new chapter. A special thank you to **BuckeyeForLife** for all the hard work he puts in to help make my chapters a success. As well the advice he gives, ensuring I don't miss bits and pieces as my story develops.


	6. Y1 Needles, Chess and Meetings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure yet if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings yet.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**The Forgotten Lord – Chapter 6:** **Needles, Chess and Meetings**

**Rewritten edition**

**Revised and Beta by ****BuckeyeForLife**** on**** 20th Nov**

Looking around the near empty library while waiting for his friend Padma to arrive, Harry took the opportunity to sink into his codex and began to file away the events of the day by sorting his memories. He couldn't help but reflect on his day, which had been interesting on a number of levels. First, was Padma's embarrassment, which plagued most of the morning classes. Harry didn't notice it too much at first, due to both of them being too focused on their lessons. Therefore, they did not partake in small talk, unlike most of their classmates.

However, outside their lessons it was becoming increasingly annoying. Especially the awkward moments whenever he asked a question, or the fact that the Padma would leave an extra bit of space between them. Harry had decided to leave it be and just get along with his day, the last thing he wanted to do was make the situation worse than it was by saying something stupid.

As he expected, the rest of the first year Ravens had chosen to give him the silent treatment and tried to ignore him, while at the same time glaring at him whenever he answered a question or earned points.

This didn't affect him much, since the Dursleys had a similar policy. If the Ravens thought it would break him, they were mistaken; ten years with the Dursleys had made him immune to the silent treatment and pointed looks.

Padma herself was not immune sadly, and she indirectly came under fire due to their friendship and she didn't fail to notice the looks she received from her housemates.

It also forced Padma to get over her embarrassment after getting upset at receiving the cold shoulder from a couple of Ravens whom she had befriended the first night. Harry had explained it was not because of her, but due to him and they were just jealous of Harry helping her and that they would get over it in a couple days.

However, Potions class had turned out just as the older Ravens had warned them on their first evening, and had resulted in them losing points.

Harry had answered several questions correctly, but he could not make up for his fellow housemates lack of preparation for the class. He also couldn't do anything about the hostile nature of the teacher in general towards the students, with Harry himself being a prime target.

It gave Harry the impression that the man would rather be somewhere else instead of teaching them how to brew potions.

But, to a point, he could understand the teacher's strict teaching style. His mother's notes had explained potion brewing was a dangerous profession and mixing unstable ingredients could have hazardous results to both the brewer and the surrounding individuals as well.

Simply put, a potion intended to heal could very well become toxic if brewed incorrectly, therefore a high standard was necessary for everyone's safety.

This point was proven when several of his Hufflepuff classmates had to be taken to the hospital wing for treatment, after the boil-cure potion they had been brewing blew up in their faces, effectively covering them in mixture of boils and minor burns.

Harry and Padma had both received five points from Professor Snape for being the only ones who were able to successfully brew the potion to an acceptable standard. The potion itself looked exactly like the one described in the book, with the same colouring and texture.

Harry expected the Professor just didn't want them to get cocky from their first attempt, hence only giving them an acceptable marking for the potion.

The class that he been looking forward to most that day was Defence Against the Dark Arts, which taught students the proper way to deal with dark creatures, how to handle dangerous situations and spells used in combat, like shield charms.

But Quirrell's lessons quickly turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days.

Many of the students couldn't even understand what he was saying. It was clear by end of the lesson that many of his fellow classmates were disappointed and personally, Harry thought that the man should be replaced. Because of his own reasoning that being able to defend oneself against dark elements was critical skill, and it needed to be taught correctly. Also, his father had been a hit-wizard and he had noted the importance of the subject and how seriously it should be taken by all parties.

He had asked several older Ravens about it, who all said the Defence against the Dark Arts position was cursed, and that most teachers only lasted a year before they left for one reason or another. The longest had been two years, but that professor had been found dead in his office. When his death was investigated, nobody could discover a cause of death and it was finally ruled an accident. Hence the curse was confirmed in the Hogwarts rumour mill.

This kept any well respected wizards or witches from taking the position anymore, and most students had to rely on being self taught to get a passing grade. The upper year students said the books would be good enough for an acceptable grade. However, the final lesson of the day more than made up for the lack of teaching ability by Professor Quirrell.

Transfiguration was taught by Professor McGonagall, who was sitting on her desk in her animagus form when they arrived. Most of students just thought it was common cat, mainly because cats were allowed in Hogwarts due to many witches having them as familiars or pets.

However, Harry knew differently because her animagus transformation had triggered his father's own interest in the skill, which resulted in his father achieving his own form of a stag.

After shocking the class into silence with her transformation from a cat, the Professor started giving her opening speech. As Harry wondered what his own form would be, several possibilities crossed his mind. However, he wouldn't be able to find out until his core personality settled. Even then he would have to find the potion, which was ministry controlled, before he could try.

Having finished her opening speech and giving a strict warning to the class, Professor McGonagall changed her desk into a pig, before quickly changing it back. To say that the class was excited was an understatement, but they quickly realized they wouldn't be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.

After making a series of notes on the Universal Laws of Transfiguration, they were tasked with changing a match into a needle.

Harry thought back on process described by a number of books he read, along with his father's notes on process, it all was about visualizing the change itself. The more you knew about the item, the easier it was due to there being less magic required to force the change. He had read the theory, but hadn't practised since parents had warned how dangerous it was to try without supervision.

Thinking of a match changing from wood to steel, changing its' length, its' thickness, recalling its' texture from when he used needles to repair his clothes and repeating the images in his mind, wood to steal again and again, he said the incantation.

Before Harry's eyes the match changed to a needle, a prefect copy of the needle he pictured.

"Well done Mr. Potter, most impressive. It seems you have inherited your father's talent," Professor McGonagall said with a small smile directed towards him. Before she could continue, out corner of her eye she saw the Boy-who-lived change his own match into needle.

"Well done Mr Longbottom, it seems I've been graced with two naturally talented students this year," she said with smile. She then rewarded them with ten points each, before setting both to the task of transforming multiple matches.

Harry took the time to help explain the process to Padma and assist her with the task. Under his guidance, she was the third in the class to master the transfiguration. He saw Neville trying to help his friends, including a ginger haired boy, who Harry recalled from welcoming feast, was called Ron, short for Ronald. He was only partly successful, but then again he was trying to assist three of his year mates whilst Harry was just helping Padma.

Eventually he got around to trying multiple transfigurations. It took awhile to learn, but as he practiced he got faster after each consecutive attempt. By the end of class, he was able to change ten matchsticks at time into needles and back again without too much difficulty, earning him an additional ten points for Ravenclaw.

Several more students had achieved the transfiguration by end of the lesson. Harry and Padma received heated stares from their fellow Ravens who had not managed to complete the task. From the lion's den, the Boy-who-lived and his friend Dean were able to transfigure the match along with the lioness Hermione, who seemed to take it as a personal challenge to keep up with Harry and Padma.

After class, Padma rushed off to catch up with her sister Parvarti, since they been unable to talk since being sorted, after telling him she would meet him in the library later.

His reflections ended when Padma sat down at his table in the library without a greeting and took a book out of her bag and start reading. Padma showed signs of distress and on closer inspection had dried tear marks on her cheeks.

Harry couldn't decide what to do about it. 'Should I comfort her? Should I even get involved? After all, it may not be any of my concern, but even if it is what do I say? Shouldn't I at least ask? After all, isn't that what friends are meant to do for one another?' Coming to decision, he decided to a least try to show some concern.

Putting his book down and levelling his gaze on Padma he asked, "Are you ok?"

Padma didn't even look up, just said, "I'm fine," however her voice said otherwise. Now Harry faced another decision on what to do next. How many times had he seen someone say they were fine, but burst out crying as soon as they were alone. He knew he did that a lot during his first year at primary school, and being alone often made him feel worse. Looking at Padma and making sure his tone contained both concern and seriousness Harry said, "If you sure, but if you want to talk about whatever has upset you, I will be here to listen. Otherwise, let me know if I can help with anything." He then went back to his book about charms.

"Thank you," was the soft reply, to which Harry just nodded.

Both of them got to work on their respective tasks and after finishing the work set by Professors McGonagall and Snape, before Padma finally spoke up.

"You know how you said if there was anything you can do?" Padma asked curiously.

"Yeah," Harry replied, looking up from his assignment.

"Can you check my Charms homework for any mistakes?" Padma asked, pushing the roll of parchment towards him.

Harry was tempted to tell her that wasn't what he meant and to do it herself, however he had a different idea when he looked down at his own Potions assignment. He knew it was correct, but just wasn't sure it was written in the proper format. Looking back at Padma with a cheeky smile, he said, "Sure, as long as you check my Potions essay for me."

"Deal," was the quick reply, paired with a smile.

They swapped their work and started pointing out mistakes, or areas that could be improved upon. Both of them stayed in the library until they were forced to leave because it would soon to be closing time, but before leaving they each checked out a couple additional books.

Harry's choices were a few second year charms books, since he had already completed and memorized most of their first year counter parts. This was thanks mainly to his study of Occlumency, as well as his wish to get a head start. Even if he wouldn't fully understand the texts for a while, he could always ask his Head of House to explain the concepts if he was confused.

After all, without understanding the knowledge would be worthless; he might as well be a book just stating facts. And that would only be useful during quizzes, not in the real world.

Padma just gave him a questioning look at his selections, before taking out some astronomy texts. Since she loved star gazing, and wanted to impress their teacher the following evening.

Both of them went back to the Nest, where Padma brought out a wizarding chess set she had brought with her to Hogwarts. She explained that she liked chess over wizard card games since it kept the mind sharp, due to the need to plan ahead. A card game like Exploding Snap was all about quick reflexes, which her sister always beat her at, she admitted somewhat bitterly.

Harry was amazed by the animations of the chess pieces; they would moan or curse whenever they moved into danger or were destroyed by another piece.

This would become their routine in the evening in weeks to come. After completing their workload, they would sit down and discuss their lessons and different theories, while pointing out each other's mistakes or misconceptions. They would also talk about the latest stories in the Hogwarts rumour mill, all over a game of chess before retiring to their beds to repeat the cycle the next day.

**Mightnight Gold**

**Several weeks later -3****rd**** week at Hogwarts**

The chess games themselves became far more evenly matched after a while. All Harry's previous experience had been against the aged librarian in his childhood haven and even then had only played the game a couple times. Padma however, had played against her entire family; her dad and grandfather were chess masters, hence Harry was easy prey for Padma.

The first couple evenings had been a total white wash for Harry, who was continuously defeated by Padma over the course of the evening to the amusement of the rest of the Nest. However, Harry had the advantage of learning Occlumency and was quickly learning and countering her tactics, all the while developing his own complex strategies on the fly.

He never forgot his mistakes or the traps he had fallen into over first few weeks, forcing Padma to adapt and develop new styles of play. He thought it was unfair in part, and planned to tell Padma soon so she could search her own family library during Christmas break for her own texts on the mind arts.

He couldn't risk being found out and if he loaned his own copy to her, it could be confiscated for the remainder of his time at Hogwarts, since it could be deemed a dark text by the Headmaster, plus made the staff aware of his own study of the subject.

The chess games slowly changed from Harry stalling Padma's eventual victories as long as he could, to causing her victories to be increasingly costly much to the complaint of her own pieces. Finally he managed a victory, much to Padma's dismay at the loss of her winning streak.

Harry favoured the style of lethal counter attacks after drawing Padma in. Padma had, after several defeats by this method, changed to a strategy of weathering the storm, resulting in a balanced game.

However, now he was currently sitting in his Head of House's office, waiting for their meeting to start. The chair itself was bit small for his own taste, so he decided to do something about it. Standing up, pausing a moment to remember the enchantment, he tapped his wand to the chair and said, "_Engorgio,_"causing it to grow to a more comfortable size.

Behind him he heard clapping and turning he saw Professor Flitwick clapping excitedly from seeing him perform the charm. "Most impressive Mr. Potter, take ten points for performing a second year charm."

"Thank you Professor," Harry replied.

"Please take a seat," Flitwick said while gesturing to the seat Harry had just enlarged, with a smile on his face.

"Would you like some tea Mr. Potter or perhaps some biscuits?" the tiny wizard offered.

"I'm full thanks, I might take a tea though," Harry said, accepting the cup of tea and taking a sip, idly thinking that it could use some more sugar. Harry was still getting used to being able have sugar in his tea; it had been another thing his 'relatives' had denied him.

"Now, let's get started shall we?" the Professor began with a cheerful voice. "I'm sure you're wondering what this is about. This is merely a way for me to get to know the new students and connect with them. Since you have been performing so well, I decided to begin with you. It also helps build trust, so I can better advise you in your educational choices," he continued. "So how are you enjoying your stay at Hogwarts? Is it living up to your expectations?"

"Hogwarts itself is very beautiful," Harry answered, with a smile on his face. "I had read a bit about it before coming, but seeing it myself, simply put; the books don't do it justice."

"Hmm, wonderful," Flitwick chirped happily."Many students tend to think that. It's the reason we have the first years enter Hogwarts for the first time the way they do, it adds to the school's beauty and helps set the tone."

"Now let's talk about classes and what you think of them. I know you're performing well above expectations in my class and most of my fellow teachers say the same about you in their classes. Your talent is most unexpected, unlike your fellow student Mr. Longbottom," Flitwick continued, with another smile.

"Now what do you think Harry, can I call you Harry?" Flitwick asked.

"Of course, as long as it is in private, I'd rather other student's don't think my achievements are due to favouritism," he answered honesty. "May I ask you why you're not surprised that Mr. Longbottom is a talented student?"

It had really been puzzling Harry over the last week; Longbottom had shown ability, while at the same time displaying a lack of the necessary knowledge to answer the theory behind it, which could only be gained from reading.

"Mr. Longbottom has received training since his eighth birthday. His grandmother insisted that he be allowed to train, due to his status as a celebrity so that he could protect himself. There have been a number of attempts on his life, therefore it was deemed necessary for his own safety. That said, they focused primarily on the practical applications of magic, mainly duelling, with a bit of charms and transfiguration," Flitwick answered. "However, he still has to obey the law. It just means he can train and practice during summer holidays."

"Now, what do think of your lessons?" the Professor asked again.

Weighing up how to word his response before replying, "The best way I can put it would be that I have mixed feelings. Some lessons are a disappointment, such as History and Defence where both teachers are horrible. It's getting to the point that I am considering skipping the lessons and doing independent study in library, whereas others have been enjoyable. However, I do find some of the classes unchallenging," Harry finished, hoping his answer wasn't cocky or arrogant.

"Ok Harry, tell me what classes you find unchallenging?"

"No disrespect intended, but I find both yours and Professor McGonagall's classes lack a challenge. As you saw earlier, I am already into second year charms and I spent most of last Saturday going through all the first year charms, making sure that I could cast them effectively. Mastering them now is just a matter of time, likewise with most of the transfiguration material."

"Simply put, I expect I will be able to take the second year exam for both subjects this summer without much difficulty. You yourself just saw part of my charm work," Harry said, tapping his seat before continuing, "The rest, I am finding reasonable enough. That said, the only negative so far is Potions class, more specifically Professor Snape's attitude towards me. I find it most unprofessional, especially considering this is meant be place of education," Harry answered. "I understand the need to have a strict classroom work ethic, due to the dangers involved in brewing potions, but the attitude is not required."

The Professor just nodded in agreement before speaking, "Professor Snape's attitude has often been considered a problem by many students and parents, but the Headmaster requires him. The depth of his knowledge is unquestioned, and finding someone of his skill level is a rare thing," he said with sad smile, before continuing, "History and Defence have been having problems for a number of years. Budget cuts and policy have led to their decline, because even though Hogwarts is a not state school, it still has to at least listen to Ministry of Magic. The best I can advice is independent study and if you have any problem in Defence ask me. I am sure I can help direct your development, after all in my youth I was known for being quick with my wand." The Professor's wand suddenly appeared in his hand, before returning to its holster.

"Thank you for your offer, I may take you up on it sometime in the future since I have a interest in developing my own duelling skills," Harry replied. The main reason he hadn't approached the ex-dualist earlier was simply because his own body was underdeveloped and weak. It would need time before he could undertake such physically intense training.

He had approach Ayra, asking if she was willing to be his own personal healer and an agreement was quickly agreed upon for a price. The price was quite high compared to her ministry employed counter parts, but she offered the privacy he needed and wanted.

During their discussion, she had told him he would have to space out his own recovery across a year before he could undertake any high stress activities. He had started with minor workouts in the morning, and planned to move to a more advanced routine as soon as his body was able.

Ayra had stated with honesty that his body was undersized, had bones which had healed incorrectly and muscles that were underdeveloped. Effectively, the only thing that had kept him alive was his magic. If everything went well, he would be able to take up an extensive exercise routine this summer.

Hearing Professor Flitwick say something brought his attention back to present, "That might be possible in couple years. How are you enjoying your time outside the classroom? I know you're helping Padma, but you don't seem to have made much of an effort for the other Ravens."

Deciding to be honest, after all they had been the ones to annoy him since arriving at Hogwarts, Harry answered, "Most of my fellow first year Ravens lack maturity. They demanded help, without making the effort to attempt the work on their own first. Why should I spend my own time and energy helping someone, who is unwilling to push their self? Every minute I spend helping them, is a minute less I can spend on my own personal development."

Taking a sip of his tea, he continued, "I assist Padma because she is willing to work hard and has a similar work ethic to me. There are places where my knowledge is lacking due to not growing up in magical world, and she can offer insight only gained from experience. In time, when my other year mates mature, I expect I will have better relations with them, but at the moment they test my patience."

Saying that they tested his patience was an understatement, but it was most diplomatic way to phrase it. Simply put, most of his fellow Ravens were spoiled brats, who made demands without offering anything in return.

"I see," Flitwick began with sad smile, "This happen often in my house. My students own intelligence blinds them. They spend so much time believing they are all knowing and feel they don't need to revise, that it isn't until they achieve average results that they realize they need to push themselves."

He took a sip of his tea before continuing, "Being a Raven does not make one smart, it just provides a student with an environment where they can push their own academic skills with other students who have similar potential." Flitwick continued, "I just wanted to make sure everything was fine, but I do see your point on giving up you own time. So what other interests do you have?"

"I've started reading some basic Ancient Runes texts on theory and everything, since they have many practical usages. Plus my mother was known to be rather knowledgeable in the subject," Harry said which bought out a sad smile from his Professor.

"Also, I like anything that gives me a good challenge, or tests me," Harry finished with a smile.

"Most interesting, I'm sure our local Runes mistress will be keen to meet you in your 3rd year," his Head of House said, causing Harry to flush a bit in embarrassment. "Now my senior prefects have told me you haven't been turning up to the group study sessions, may I ask why?"

"To be honest, I don't need their help, since all the assignments so far are very basic. Why waste two hours going over an essay that I've ready written to an 'o' level? I prefer to focus my energies elsewhere, plus I don't want to waste the prefect's time when they can spend it helping people who actually need the assistance," Harry answered. He knew it was bit arrogant, but he wasn't going to lie.

"Fair point, your charms essays themselves have been at an outstanding level. I don't think you've missed a single point since you started in my class. Maybe it would be for the best to assign you to a single prefect to monitor your studies, and assist you if you need it," Flitwick stated.

"That's fine, as long as he or she doesn't slow me done. I'd rather I didn't have to keep explaining myself," he said jokingly, causing the professor to smile.

Flitwick observed him curiously before chuckling again, "Mr. Potter, you are so much like your parents and yet so different I can't help but find it amusing."

Seeing the almost desperate, inquisitive look in Harry's eyes, Flitwick decided to explain further, "Had your mother or father been in this position, the former would have been bursting with questions and the latter would have probably been a tad bit boastful. You have a mix of them both," he admitted with a smile. "Yet you sit before me, the picture of the perfect gentleman by allowing me to speak with no interruptions. It shows that you have respect for me or my position and most probably have some knowledge of pureblood customs."

Harry just smiled at the acknowledgement, but his good manners were mainly due to his relatives beating him whenever he interrupted them. However, Harry was getting a bit uncomfortable with Flitwick's ability to assess him so easily.

"You are so much like your parents with your thirst to learn, your mother more so than your father. While your father always endeavoured to better his own skills in transfiguration and duelling, he never really showed any interest in doing so until his third year, and even then it remained solely in those fields. Your mother however," Flitwick paused and stared out into space before letting out a wistful sigh, "Your mother was one of the most brilliant students I've ever had the pleasure of teaching. She had such a powerful thirst for knowledge and such brilliant skill in charms; it was a shame she was never sorted in my house."

"She mentioned you being her favourite professor in her journals a lot Professor," Harry interjected when he was sure he wouldn't be interrupting."She also said you were an excellent teacher." He hoped it would encourage the Professor to assist him when he tried his own hand at duelling.

Harry found it amusing when the tiny wizard's cheeks turned red in embarrassment. "Well, she was a most excellent student, I assure you," Flitwick replied, after a little cough.

"Your mother also had the same concerns as yourself," he explained with a smile. "Though her thirst for knowledge eventually outweighed her reservations, and she eventually asked me for help in her 4th year," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Flitwick hopped off from his chair and removed a rather large and dusty book from the large bookshelf near his desk before taking his seat again.

"I hope I have gained enough of your trust that you can come to me if you feel you are not being tested sufficiently. I must cut this wonderful meeting short; I have a lesson starting in the next couple minutes, however take this book," he said with a smile before handing the book over.

He then stood up abruptly and headed towards the door and opened it for Harry. "I hope my copy of '_Charms: More than Making Things Float!,'_ challenges you further," he said with a smile.

"I hope however that you will keep this quiet, I would rather not have my N.E.W.T students swarming me trying to get their own copies," Flitwick said with another smile. "Just return the book when you have read it to its full potential," he finished with a chuckle, leaving a stunned Harry as he exited his office.

Leaving the office quickly, Harry made his way to his dorm room, eager to begin reading the tome that his Head of House had provided.

**Charms Classroom - Flitwick P.O.V.**

As his fifth year class came to end, he decided it was time to address the issue that had come up during his earlier conversation with Harry. He had come to a decision on which prefect would be Harry's mentor, or his first year guide, finally settling on Penelope Clearwater.

His reasons were simple. First, it would give one of his prized Ravens more time to focus on her O.W.L's, due to her having to only mentor one student, rather than having to take part in leading the study groups. Also, both of them had similar interest in charms and runes, which would give them something to bond over. After all, Harry had no family so maybe a brother–sister relationship would form between them. He wasn't blind, it was clear Harry had issues and maybe Penelope could help him with them.

Secondly, Penny had a lot to gain if a friendship occurred. It would help her after leaving Hogwarts to have a head of an Ancient and Noble House supporting her. He knew it was often hard for his female students to find respectable careers in the magical world. The magical world was a male dominated society, and it was especially difficult for muggleborns, despite them often getting better grades than their pureblood counter parts.

Simply put, it was his job to look out for the best interests of his Ravens and Penny was the prefect, who stood to gain the most from at least forming a good working relationship with Harry. Hopefully the girl would see the advantages of friendship with a future lord, without him pushing her too much. He would rather not become as manipulative as Albus, but this really did give the talented girl a chance to make something of herself.

Seeing the class was about to end Filius said, "Miss Clearwater please stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed, but remember to read the next two chapters for the next class."

Penny followed her diminutive Head of House to his office, before making her way to the chair in front of his desk, which seemed to be larger than it was the last time she was here. After sitting down, she looked on as Professor Flitwick called a house elf to bring them refreshments.

Flitwick quickly went about serving them both tea after thanking the house elf, before starting the conversation. "Penny I am sure you are interested in why I asked you to stay behind, but first I have to ask if you finished reading the book I gave you at the beginning of the term?"

Penny recalled the book he gave her to read on magical sociality, which he had wrote himself. It had been shocking to learn just how backwards present day magical England was. Magical society seemed to be stuck in the 1700's, where positions were often bought through family connections, prestige and money was considered much more important than raw talent. With enough money you could get away with murder, provided you had right connections.

And a large amount of society was controlled by a few small groups of individuals, who controlled the laws, employment rights and positions within the government. Also, no muggleborn had ever risen to be a Head of any of the important departments in the Ministry of Magic. The best she could hope for was to be a high ranking secretary, of an rather important department head. It had been sickening to learn how limited her future was without the right connections.

Also, to learn that many of her less talented peers would be favoured over her due to their blood status and gender, she was just above werewolves in status, and that was truly disheartening. Simply put, being a muggleborn and a woman meant most traditional pureblood males saw her as pair of legs for their own entertainment and pleasure.

Most wizards would expect her to stay at home to take care of their children and be a homemaker. It gave her visions of Percy's mother, who seemed nice, but bit controlling. But she wanted more out of her life, this also made her question the true intentions of a few of her male friends.

The book also explained the sneers and smirks she got from some of her male year mates, who obviously knew that if she wanted to go anywhere in her career that 'favours' would be expected from her.

Looking across the table, she saw her Head of House was waiting for a response. "Yes, the books you provided me were eye-opening. I had no idea just how backwards the Ministry was," Penny answered, trying not to take her anger out on her Head of House, who just wanted to help her.

"I hope you understand that I gave them to you so you would be prepared for how things work outside of Hogwarts," Filius responded before taking another sip of his tea. "However, I may have found a possible solution to your problem, if you are interested?"

"What do you mean?" Penny asked curiously.

"Well, as you know from the section in the book about peerages and their role in our government, the backing of a Head of an Ancient and Noble house could be beneficial for you. And to that point, Ravenclaw is currently housing a soon to be lord. If I recall correctly, you and Percy met the future Lord Potter on the Hogwarts' Express. Also, you and the other prefects have mentioned that he hasn't been attending the group study sessions," Flitwick answered.

"The first year that cast a bluebell fireball at another student?" Penny asked, hoping to confirm the individual her Head of House was talking about.

"Indeed, that is the young Lord Potter, who will be able to take up his lordship on his 14th birthday, which is a couple months after you finish your final year at Hogwarts," he replied, before continuing on. "Mr. Potter has already proven to be a most capable student, as well as having the potential for great things just like his mother."

Penny just nodded to show she was following along, but she was wondering where the Head of Ravenclaw house was going with all this.

"He does not feel the need to attend the study sessions, and I agree with him. He has proven himself to be far above the average Raven and I expect him to receive at least two masteries before he leaves Hogwarts," Filius explained, causing a shocked look to appear on Penny's features.

The comment about Harry's potential to achieve two masteries before he left Hogwarts had stunned Penny, because it was rare for an individual receive one, let alone multiple masteries. To hear that her Head of House expected him to manage at least two meant he had high hopes indeed. Looking back at her amused professor she questioned, "What does this have to do with me?"

"It means that I am hoping that you will accept my request for you to be Mr. Potter's mentor. Simply put, I'll excuse you from having to do study sessions with the lower years, so you that can supervise his studying. It will also give you more time for your own studies for your coming O.W.L.'s," Flitwick answered, hoping that the girl would make the connection between the books he gave her and opportunity he was presenting to her in aiding in the future lord's education.

Flitwick decided to drop a couple more hints, to make sure the girl would get what he was hinting at, "Mr. Potter's family was killed during the war against the last Dark Lord. Not only is he the last of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, but his mother was a rather talented muggleborn just like yourself."

Flitwick took another sip of tea, and realizing that Penny still hadn't connected the dots. Deciding he would have to be more obvious, about what he was hoping Penelope could achieve by helping the young Lord. To save time and confusion he continued, "Traditionally, the Potter family has always been forward thinking in nature and rarely cares for blood status. Harry himself was raised by his non-magical relatives and I'm sure you can see the possible benefit of an alliance, or your gaining the protection of his house early on before his Lordship is announced. I'm sure some of the more politically aware students of Slytherin house, are already aware of the possible benefits of an alliance with Mr. Potter."

Penny suddenly understood what the Professor had been hinting at through the conversation and silently cursed herself for taking so long to catch on. Quickly realizing just how much it could help her, by being on good terms with young lord in the years to come. Also, since he and his mother had lived in non-magical world, he wouldn't immediately be dismissive of her, unlike most of his counter parts.

If she became his friend and proved herself to be talented or useful, it would be likely that she would receive some protection and support from the future Lord. Also, she remembered the Professor mentioning something about a lack of family, so maybe trying to be an older sister to him would also help. Looking at the Professor, she could see he had been following her thought process, so she answered, "It seems a waste not to encourage his talent and skill, I look forward to being able to help direct his development."

Flitwick just nodded before saying, "I hope you realize the opportunity you've been presented with, and the additional benefits that could arise from tutoring him. Now, since our business is done, I must return to my marking," dismissing her.

Penny got up and started making her way to door, thanking her lucky stars for her Head of House's foresight. When she reached the door she turned around before offering a heartfelt, "Thank you."

Flitwick looked up from his papers at Penny standing near the open the door, "Don't thank me just yet. I just suggested a possible path that could benefit you both, but it is up to you to win the lad's friendship," he said before returning to his marking.

**End of Chapter**


	7. Y1 Dogs and Penny

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure yet if it will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings yet.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 7: Dogs and Penny **

**Reposted 30th March 2013**

**Revised and Beta by** **Joe Lawyer**

Penny couldn't help but have a bounce in her step, as she gracefully headed towards the great hall, already thinking about her role in mentoring the future Lord. If she was successful in cultivating a friendship with the young Mr. Potter, it could only help her get ahead, despite the prejudiced nature of the Ministry of Magic.

Thinking back on the meeting on the train at the start of the school year, and every other encounter she had had with him, it suddenly dawned on her that it wouldn't be easy. After all, he was clearly intelligent and wasn't an individual to be intimidated by rank or position; that much was made clear by him ignoring Percy on the train, and every other first year attempting to give him the cold shoulder for refusing to help them. She had often watched from a corner of the common room as the raven-haired first year played chess, and in less than a month he had gone from being butchered by his friend Padma, to being the one defeating Padma using his own complex and innovative traps.

In addition, she had seen him hanging around with a couple of Slytherins, which demonstrated that he wasn't someone who judged others by how they were labelled. Then again, Ravenclaw generally had the best relationship with the Slytherin population of Hogwarts. He was also strangely more mature than most of his year mates she noted, probably more mature than some fifth years she knew too, who were still messing about like first years, as she remembered Percy's twin brothers. It probably explained his friendship with the Slytherin students; if they were ambitious or sharp they most likely had similar mindsets, since most of the snakes had an upbringing in politics. Otherwise she doubted he would hang around with them, it was clear that he wasn't interested in making friends just for friendship's sake.

All of which was very positive for her, she would just have to tread carefully.

Simply put, she doubted that simply walking up to him and telling him that she would be his tutor for the remainder of the year would result in an immediate teacher/student relationship, a relationship where she would lead, and he would follow. He would test her by pushing her to prove her worth and value to him.

It suddenly dawned on her that it would be much harder than she originally thought; she would need to prepare and come up with some type of pitch.

After all, her head of house had warned her that it would be up to her, and a good Ravenclaw always had some type of plan. Remembering the fact that Harry would be a Lord some day, it was probably for the best that she at least tried to learn something of his family's recent history, so she wouldn't make an utter fool of herself, or screw herself over and ruin her chances by saying the wrong thing.

The problem was where to find such information; 'library,' she instantly concluded realizing that it would contain at least some biographical information on the family. Walking through the near empty corridors, she saw someone she was hoping to avoid, Percy.

Percy had always been nice to her throughout their years at school, or maybe indifferent to her until the start of the previous school year, but clearly something had changed last year and for whatever reasons he had taken it upon himself to 'court' her. Naturally, it was very flattering, and was a welcomed ego boost at the time; after all, Percy was a respectable guy, if not a little stiff. But now she couldn't help but think back on everything she had learnt about magical Britain since the beginning of the year, whilst having images of Percy's mother, who seemed rather pushy and demanding.

"Penny! Wait up!" he called, whilst hurrying over to her.

Mentally groaning at her misfortune, whilst trying to decide what to do about him; despite everything she had learned about the sexist nature of the Ministry, and magical Britain as a whole, she didn't want to end their friendship before knowing where he really stood with his views. She personally put it down to her Ravenclaw curiosity, and need for answers, after all he was nice to her, and had been a good friend. Nevertheless she couldn't help but think of his parents being pureblood, and how his mother Molly held a snobbish attitude towards her, like she wasn't good enough for her precious son. "Percy, how are you today?" she asked, only showing half interest in his presence, as the Gryffindor prefect straightened his robes.

"I am fine, thank you," answering with a smile, "Do you mind if I join you? Since I have a free period for the next hour and a bit," Percy offered in explanation.

Considering her answer before replying, if she allowed him to join her she wouldn't be able to research her target openly, and would be forced to make civilized conversation, but she could always discreetly pump Percy for information on the Potters.

Deciding to give him a hint that she wanted to be alone, "I doubt you would enjoy my company today Percy. I have a long assignment just set by Professor Flitwick, and I need to focus on it, I'll just be a bore," she replied with a hint of coldness.

Percy just smiled, "That's no problem, I am sure I can help you. I've just handed in all my assignments, after all, we prefects need to set an example to our year-mates." He replied pompously, instinctively thrusting out his chest to show his prefect badge, as she resisted rolling her eyes at Percy's self-aggrandizing speech.

"Very well then, Percy," was her clipped reply as she started walking away with purpose, as Percy lagged behind following her. 'He better not be looking at my ass,' feeling the boy's eyes lingering on her ass, but still feeling slightly flattered at the attention.

**Midnight Gold**

Harry was currently reading his way through the book his Head-of-House had given him. The book focused on how simple charms could be used for un-intended purposes, such as combat, while giving examples on how combining mundane charms could cause unexpected and sometimes lethal results.

Basically the book was about how simple charms could be turned into combat capable spells for duelling and personal defence. The advantage of this was that clever usage of simple charms required less power, over some more energy expensive duelling styles.

Tactics like using an overpowered cooking charm on an individual would cause serious burns, muscle damage, as well as creating similar, but weaker effects to that of a blood boiling curse. But these simple spells are easy to heal and counter, leaving no long-term damage, and are not illegal to use on another wizard. Another example given was using the water charm coupled with the freezing charm to turn ground to ice. Simply put, the book encourages a devious mind in the cunning usage of overlooked, common spells for devastating effects. They would be especially dangerous when used with silent casting, where your foe wouldn't immediately recognise the danger the spells presented. Furthermore, it enabled Harry to understand why their local charm's master was a highly regarded duelling champion, and respected even by traditional purebloods.

Harry really hoped in the years to come that Professor Flitwick would agree to teach him, even if the style was not as effective for him, because no matter how you look at it, simply being able to learn from a master duellist who relied on skill over direct power would help him develop his own abilities in duelling. Additionally, it would help prepare him for other duellists using similar styles. However his musing was ended when he heard a light tapping sound on his bedroom window.

Making his way over to window, he saw that there was a Gringotts' bank owl trying to get in. Opening the window, the owl quickly flew in and deposited its letter onto his bed before quickly disappearing out of the window.

Breaking the seal, he read the short message contained within.

_The previously discussed and agreed upon investments have been made. I also made a number of smaller deals similar to the ones undertaken during the summer. They should prove profitable. I will discuss this further with you on your next scheduled visit to the bank._

_May Your Gold Flow and Your Enemies Lie Defeated At Your Feet_

_Bloodmoon_

_Senior Account Manager_

Smiling at the news as he considered Bloodmoon's message, he thought the goblin was doing his job well, very well. 'I might actually have to give him an extra reward for his good work,' considering how to keep the goblin happy and giving that extra effort for his accounts without his motivations becoming clear.

He had looked over the Potter investment portfolio during the summer holidays and was _very_ interested in reopening the Potter Docklands which had been a major cash cow for his family before the last war, and the Death Eater attacks which had resulted in its destruction after several raids. Along with the redevelopment of the Potter's holdings surrounding the docklands, which could possibly be rented out to new businesses, frankly, it would give London's Diagon Alley some serious competition if redeveloped correctly...and all of it under his and his family's control. The possibilities were endless with a creative mind.

He was considering asking Bloodmoon about it as soon as the current businesses were sorted and fixed, to make preliminary moves to reopening the alley and docks again. He was pretty certain that businesses would return to the area if the right incentives were in place to entice them, such as low rent for a fixed period of time or a percentage of their profits, and prime shop positions on the magical high street.

But first, he would discreetly buy up the old businesses, and any other real-estate in the area he could get a hold of, whilst the land value was still low, before anyone realized his plans for the redevelopment of the area. After all, if anyone found out it would drive up the land value, decreasing the potential for profit. Considering the money he'd be sinking into the place and the political obstacles he'd need to overcome to make it a reality, he wanted to control as much of it as he could before he even started. If everything went well, he could possibly turn the area into a magical cultural center like it was before, whilst lining his pockets with gold.

He knew Bloodmoon would be supportive and more than willing to try; this project could very well triple the yearly revenue flowing into the Potter vaults, improving the goblin's own prominence and position within the bank.

Naturally, he would try to buy a good percentage of the surrounding real estate under the Peverell account to help prevent people from connecting the dots. However, he would have to be careful; he doubted that the other powerful families, who had business interests in Diagon Alley, would take kindly to seeing their profits decrease with the opening of another magical shopping alley.

It would take time, but he was young and he was patient. He just needed to plan out his moves carefully and gather the right set of allies and supporters while taking advantage of every opportunity as it became available.

Noticing the time on the clock, it was time for dinner and he was a growing boy, and growing boys need their food to grow big and strong. Plus, he had agreed to meet Hagrid tonight as well, which he was looking forward to at the prospect of hearing some more stories about his parents and their days at Hogwarts.

**Hagrid's Hut**

After finishing his dinner, he made his way down the worn stone path to the groundkeeper's hut, as darkness started engulfing the evening sky and the sun steadily set for the evening. The hut was a modest home, but it was clearly warm and friendly like the groundskeeper himself, and had that natural earthly feeling about it.

The evening slowly ticked by as Hagrid introduced him to his dog named Fang, and told him stories about his parents.

Finally, after several stories he got around to asking why he named the dog 'Fang', the half-giant replied fondly with an easily smile, "It gives him courage," before patting his loveable dog with a surprising gentleness on its brow.

Chuckling at the half-giant's odd sense of humour, he privately wondered if Hagrid had a policy of giving harmless pets dangerous sounding names, whilst giving highly dangerous creatures simple, unassuming names, like something you would give to hamster or any other family pet.

Listening as the half-giant talked about magical creatures with undisguised passion, he wondered if Hagrid had any other pets or any other creatures of personal interest. Putting down his oversized mug, "Got any other pets of interest?" he enquired, watching as Hagrid stroked Fang gently.

"Only Fluffy, nice dog, really loyal, totally harmless, wouldn't hurt a soul," Hagrid started in explanation whilst taking a gulp of his own drink, "The headmaster asked if he could borrow him for the rest of the year," the groundskeeper explained further with a half smile, as he recalled his pet.

Smiling as the half-giant talked fondly about his pet, his natural curiosity wanted to know what type of animal Fluffy was. Hagrid didn't say, just assumed that he knew what Fluffy was, but he doubted it was a rabbit like the name suggested. It was quite annoying, not getting all the answers possible; it was one of his Ravenclaw traits, the need to know as much as possible; it was like a hunger at times, always demanding. "What type of animal is Fluffy, Hagrid? You didn't say?" Reaching down he pet Fang himself, as the giant of a man had some more mead from his mug.

"Oh, Fluffy is just my favourite three-headed dog, you know a Cerberus right?" He responded in a caring manner, not really paying much attention as he continued to drink, missing Harry's shocked expression as he immediately stopped petting the dog, as he processed the half-giant's statement.

"I didn't realize they were real. I just thought they were fiction from Ancient Greece," He replied quickly, realizing that many fictional stories he had read, may actually have some elements of truth to them. After all, Hagrid had just confirmed the existence of Cerberuses, what else could there be out there? Could there be hydras? It suddenly dawned on him that he would have to spend some time in the library reading up about such magical creatures, to fully find out what was fact and what was myth.

"Nah Harry," shaking his head, his long beard falling into his mug, "Cerberuses have been used for centuries as guard dogs by wizards and witches to guard their treasures. They are far easier to train than other magical creatures, such as dragons. After all, a dragon may just cook you alive," the giant joked, as Harry just listened patiently, before the groundskeeper pressed on in explanation. "Best a Cerberus will do is bite a limb off, or two, you'll just be unlucky if it gets your head, instead of a leg. You just need to know how to train them," he replied taking another gulp of his drink before continuing on.

"Cerberuses are just like normal dogs really, extremely loyal, but they also have extremely sensitive hearing, even more so since they have three pairs of ears." Looking again at Harry before continuing, "You just need to train them from a young age to respond to a set piece of music, so when that instrument is played, the dog calms down and falls right to sleep," he explained with a smile.

"It's a very useful technique for training animals, since most animals have far more sensitive hearing than us. The goblins use a similar technique when training dragons to guard their high security vaults. Of course, then you have to keep it a secret, otherwise anyone can just steal what it's guarding and it would be a rather useless guard dog then, wouldn't it?"

"Sounds interesting, Hagrid," he admitted, storing the information away, "Have you ever considered teaching about magical creatures? You obviously know a lot about them, and have a passion for the material, I'm sure you know a lot of things not mentioned in the textbooks. Things that can only be leant through experience."

"You're right there, Harry, I may just have to ask the headmaster if I can take over in a couple years," the groundskeeper noted, as he thought more about the idea. "It would give me something to do besides grounds-keeping, and being the Master of the Keys," He replied, getting exciting at the idea, before seeing the clock.

"It's getting late Harry, you better head back to your dorm. I'd rather you didn't get a detention for talking with little old me," the half-giant stated whilst chuckling at his pun. Quickly saying goodbye, and agreeing to visit Hagrid again in a couple weeks' time, before making his way back to his room, thinking over what the friendly half-giant had said.

During his way back to the dorms, he unfortunately ran into the bitter caretaker who ranted and made threats. He just ignored the aging man and his cat, pushing them to the back of his mind. After all, he had done nothing wrong, so all of his remarks were worthless, just like a small dog barking, just for the sake of barking.

It seemed being ignored just made the caretaker even more enraged resulting in Harry finally snapping at the man "You really are a right piece of work aren't you, I have done nothing wrong and yet you are threatening me? You don't even know me, I suggest you pick on someone who can't have you arrested," flashing his Potter family ring at the caretaker. "If you hate your job so much, just quit, otherwise stop your moaning," he stated bluntly as the disgruntled caretaker reddened, either from anger, or shame, but probably shame before continuing his rant.

"Have you ever thought about the reason why you are the victim of so many pranks? It's because you are trying to make our lives miserable. Think about it, I've done nothing wrong, but yet here you are, trying to cause trouble, throwing your weight around like a schoolyard bully, by god it's _pathetic_," looking at the man with disgust. "What are you? A child? Grow up! If you're not happy here, find another job. Now go back to your office and think about it," dismissing the speechless man in the hallway, like a misbehaving child.

As he was walking he wondered what had suddenly caused him to snap at the man, what had suddenly caused his temper to flare, since normally he would just have weathered the verbal storm.

Thinking about his sudden outburst, it wasn't the first such outburst in recent weeks, and he had been feeling increasingly confident lately. His mind tried to come up with a logical explanation for it. Maybe it was the result of no longer being an unfed, half-starved child finally having extra energy and belief in himself and his own worth now that he was no longer being put down every minute of the day and worked like a slave? Or was it the first signs of puberty?

**Next day – Great Hall**

Looking around the Great Hall, he watched silently as different groups of students talked amongst themselves. Whilst it may appear a waste of time just watching, it did however provide some valuable insights into the people around him. Who were the natural leaders amongst his peers, and who were the followers, who got along with who based on reading body language and positioning. Not that he could really tell with certainty, but it was still interesting to watch. It was clear that the houses stuck mostly with themselves, rather than mixed openly with another house.

Shifting his gaze over towards the Slytherin table and taking the measure of them, he noticed that the first years were broken into two camps. One was clearly led by Draco Malfoy, who in Harry's personal opinion was a spoiled brat and son of a well known Death Eater, and godson of their resident potions' master. Over the last several weeks, Harry had taken to just ignoring the boy's presence, because frankly it was easier than getting dragged down to the boy's level; plus he wasn't going to waste his valuable time dealing with a bully, unless he started to effect Harry's own efforts.

Fortunately the spoiled brat had taken it upon himself to be Neville's rival and his daily headache instead of Harry's, not that that really surprised him. Logically by Draco trying to best Neville, the famous Boy-Who-Lived, he was trying to raise himself above Neville, and indirectly above the former Dark Lord Voldemort, even if it was stupid and childish and of dubious value even in the school setting.

How often had he heard the two boys exchanging heated insults, he didn't know, it seemed to happen every time they saw each other. Frankly, he was starting to wonder if they would eventually get bored of it, or if they would keep it up for the next seven years. On the other hand, it was very amusing to watch, at least from his point of view; he was sure the other Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were just amused by the frequent exchanges in the corridors.

During one such exchange, wands were drawn, resulting in an exchanging of spells. Of course, most were harmless prank spells, with no lasting consequence. However it was amusing watching Neville cast a series of disarming and blinding spells. Padma herself had been impressed until Harry told her what Professor Flitwick had told him about the boy's advanced training.

The 'duel' was very one-sided, as expected, and resulted in the boy's fame and popularity increasing within the Lion ranks. Unfortunately for him it also resulted in Neville losing 40 house points and landing himself in detention for a week, when Professor Snape finally heard about the confrontation. Not that the young lion seemed to care, resulting in Gryffindor falling to third place in points for the House Cup. Naturally, the Deputy Headmistress not to be outdone, or perhaps just to stop her own house falling even further behind Slytherin, removed 50 points in retaliation and put Draco in detention for week with Hogwarts' resident cantankerous caretaker.

The end result was Ravenclaw gaining a comfortable lead of 100 house points over both houses, as the private house war between Gryffindor and Slytherin heated up.

Personally, he found it very amusing how the fighting between the two houses would ensure they both ended up losing in the long run. The Puffs themselves were only 10 to 15 points behind the Lions and the Snakes, so it gave them a good chance to claim second. After all, all it would take was a single good lesson to grab the second place position.

Ravens as a whole were the best prepared, and didn't break the rules as often, so they only ever lost points from potions, and Snape couldn't take too many without his intentions becoming clear and his house suffering from the combined efforts of the staff working to level the playing field.

However, the other snake faction, made up of Daphne, Tracy and Blaise, just stayed in the shadows, rather than being drawn into the ongoing conflict. They were from neutral households, and had business links between their families. He had learnt from Blaise that his family links were primarily in southern Europe, mainly in Italy and Spain, whilst Tracy and Daphne's families had links around the British Isles, and Low Countries.

They shared mutual respect for one another, and would often join him in the library whenever one or the other was present. Daphne's reasoning was simple, and had resulted in her moving up in his mind's ranking. "You are far more preferable company than our housemates," she had said one time. He smiled inwardly at that, but kept his face passive, and said, "Likewise."

He wouldn't call them friends just yet, but they weren't enemies, either. In time they could be allies, or even friends, but like most things of value, it takes time to build trust. Plus, they had common ground being heirs to their own respective houses; hence they all were entering the same world of adult responsibilities, of gathering and forming alliances and learning politics.

Tracy's family wasn't in the same league and standing as her 'friends', but they had close links due to their parents moving within similar social circles and business interests, with similar political views.

Looking over at the Gryffindor table, he saw the quick-tempered Ron Weasley playing chess again. From what he saw the red-head was reasonably good, but Harry expected he could wipe the floor with him now. After all, if he was as over-confident as he was acting, then he would be easy prey to Harry's style of play. But, he would continue to wait and watch, until he was sure he could win, and had something to gain from beating Ron.

**Great Hall**

The Great Hall was full as always, but she still felt lonely, even with the new friends she had made since arriving at Hogwarts. She had made a number of friends across the houses; however, she still missed her twin sister.

At first she had been happy when they had been sorted into different houses, since before Hogwarts they had always been a pair, both the same in everyone's eyes besides their parents. It had been the first thing everyone had noticed about them, they hadn't been allowed to be truly individuals, both were always given equal credit.

Padma herself took more after her father than her mother; she enjoyed a good book, or discussing theories, or some other type of mental challenge. Her father treated her more like her older brother, than a daughter, maybe that was because if anything happened to her brother then she'd be responsible for the line, not her sister, since she was the eldest of the pair, even if it was only by ten minutes. Whilst Pav took after their mother in her love for beauty, her sister was still smart and sharp; she just had other focuses in life, hence Pav being the more social of the pair. However, she was also the more impulsive and reckless of the pair, and that probably was why she was sorted into Gryffindor.

But now she missed her sister; not being able to always talk, or share her feelings, or just being there had really gotten to her. Both were trying to still be there for each other, but both had different timetables. Pav's friends were nice, but she was treated a bit like an outsider anyways. Her sister tried to get the group to be nice, but she was a Raven and they were Lions and that was that. Now it seemed like there was a barrier between them. The first one in their lives. Even when she sat at their table to talk to her sister she got the cold-shoulder from some of them, like she was diseased or something.

One small blessing had been her close friendship with Harry. He kept her distracted most of time, pushing her to do her best and then helping her when she was stuck, explaining any theories, effectively taking her under his wing, like a brother would. She even fell asleep on him a couple times when they had been reading together, which was extremely embarrassing. It made it easier on her, but he wasn't her twin sister...plus he was cold... not in the sense of body temperature... just in personality.

Hopefully it would get better in time, as soon as they settled down into a routine most likely; hopefully the lions would open up to her, if she sat enough with them. She would have to talk to her sister during the holidays about it; and hopefully they would be able to come up with a plan. Harry had given her some advice, 'We all grow up, and grow apart. It is the natural cycle of the world. Take comfort in knowing that your twin will always be there, no one can ever replace the bond between twins. If you ever truly need her she will be there for you. You just need time to adapt; at least she is still in the same building, not the other side of the world,' her first-year friend said sagely.

Sighing, she picked up a banana from the fruit bowl, before deciding to head back to her room.

Getting up from her seat, only to have her hand grabbed, getting her attention as her eyes fell on a pair of emerald eyes staring into her own hazelnut brown. "Are you ok Padma, you seem upset?" Harry asked his voice containing a surprising amount of concern.

"I'm fine; I just need a bit of peace and quiet for a bit. I'll be in my room reading; will you join me in bit?" she enquired, wondering how he seemed to know that she was upset, since she always thought she was good at hiding her emotions. She knew her sister could due to their connection, thinking it might be a family trait or ability.

"Sure Padma, I will be up in bit, I just want to head up to the library first to find a book, or two on magical creatures. I need a change of pace from reading just charm's theory," he answered with a smirk before pulling her into a light hug, before letting her go.

Padma couldn't help but be a bit embarrassed at the public hug, but it did feel nice to know he was concerned for her, and to notice that she was upset.

Whilst she was walking out of the great hall, she noticed several older students just smiling at her.

**Library **

Harry had heard rumours about the Cerberus on the 3rd floor, but had dismissed it as utter foolishness. He had only heard of such creatures in fictional stories before talking to Hagrid yesterday. If the creature was as dangerous as he expected then there must be a good reason for having it in a school full of children.

The groundskeeper had said that they were used to guard treasure by the wizards of old, but why then wasn't it in the bank under the guard of the goblins? Or did the headmaster need regular access to it or something and thus that was untenable?

Now standing, looking at the magical creature section of the imposing library, he realized that it was going to take a while to find the book he needed.

Sighing, Harry began his search. Hopefully it wouldn't be in vain, not noticing the blonde haired Ravenclaw watching him carefully from one of the circular study tables.

**Penny PoV**

She had only been partly successful in her search for information on the Potter family over the last couple of days, one reason for that was due to having to ditch Percy, who wouldn't take the hint that she wanted to be alone. Then there was the fact that there was no _one_ book to reference, instead she had found a number of references relating to the Potters, but most of those references talked about an individual Potter's role in various historical events rather than the family itself.

Eventually, after several days of searching, she had found an old worn out tome, which contained a short history of the line, along with most other distinguished families in magical Britain's history.

Reading over the aged tome, the Potter family's history was certainly impressive from what she knew about blood lines. The family could be dated back close to eighteen hundred years accurately, but some records suggested close to two thousand years, making them one of the oldest magical families worldwide. Only another couple dozen families spread across Europe could make similar claims accurately, the rest were simply rumour or adopted lines.

Their official history started in the north of England, on the Scottish borders as a part of a druidic sect of wizards, which helped resist the Roman imperial mages' occupation with their non-magical allies.

With the collapse and withdrawal of Imperial Rome, the Potters were left as one of most powerful magical families around, resulting in them carving out their own little kingdom in the north of England, and were one of the '7' Lords of the North. The Lords of the North were a group of 7 magical warlords, who controlled northern England and lower Scotland before the creation of the Wizengamot, and the creation of the modern Ministry of Magic several hundred years later.

For the most part, the Potter family history was similar to the rest of the ancient families dating back to that period, spending most of their time on their own private conflicts and wars trying to increase their own regional power and influence, much like their non-magical counterparts did in the middle ages. With their lands spreading south, they continued absorbing and conquering smaller families and factions as they went. However with the creation of the Wizengamot in the late 12th century, the Potters were welcomed as one of the founding families, and were one of the original ruling 13 charged with trying to maintain stability for wizards as a whole.

This early Wizengamot was mainly responsible for maintaining common laws between wizards, until the Wizengamot finally expanded to include all lords of set station and rank, and the creation of the Ministry of Magic to enforce their collective rulings in the late 14th century. In other words, it was the beginnings of the modern British Ministry of Magic, close to 500 years ago, when the Statute of Secrecy was first introduced to stop persecution from muggles.

The book went on to reveal the major Potters and their historical roles, but the conclusion was that Potters were considered a light-side family in policy and views in general, but were more grey in nature, having no issue with taking up the sword and the wand if need be. With the family motto, '_Death is the last enemy to be conquered._'

Considering the information, it explained a lot about the Potters, and why they ended up fighting against Lord Voldemort. And why the Dark Lord had wanted them dead. They had been a family whose whole history had been fighting one enemy or another for centuries, whether that was a dark lord, or another state. Ultimately resulting in the Dark Lord sending his Death Eaters after them and Harry's parents dying at the hands of the Lestrange family, and another unknown Death Eater who had managed to flee as the Aurors arrived to investigate, only to find Lady Potter dying next to her infant son, with Bellatrix Lestrange unconscious by the door.

The tome didn't go into much detail about what had happened that awful night, but from the short outline it was clear, the Potters had been sold out by one of their closest friends to the Dark Lord, who sent his most trusted and feared lieutenant after them. The tome didn't say any more. She expected that if she wanted to find out any more information, rather than a general overview, she would need to ask Harry himself about his family. Since only the Potters themselves would have a complete family history, or perhaps ask a close historical ally to them.

The Longbottom family was one of their ancient allies, dating back to the '7', but she expected if she asked the young Gryffindor he wouldn't be able to provide any useful additional information, and it would draw attention to her asking about Harry. However, her planning was interrupted as her target walked in and went straight to the magical creature section.

Penny thought this was odd, since that subject wasn't taught until the 3rd year, but there had to be some reason for his interest. Carefully watching the first year from behind her stack of books, whilst considering what to do next; should she introduce herself? Or just continue to watch?

Deciding it would be better to tell him now, so he would be prepared for her tutoring him rather than just surprising him on Wednesday. Taking out a small mirror from her bag, she made the effort of checking herself over and smarting herself up, spending the next several minutes trying to get the right image she wanted to display. But just ended up going for a smart look; if she was going to be tutoring him, she would need to make the impression of being knowledgeable and intelligent.

Walking across the floor of the library, she noticed the first year holding several large books in his arms, whilst inspecting the 3rd one's index for whatever he was looking for. Deciding to make her presence known, she gave a light cough, to make him aware of her.

Looking up from book, Harry turned to face her, giving her his attention, "Yes, can I help you?" his voice laced with annoyance at her interruption.

Penny gave a light smile, hoping to help disarm his hostility towards her. Deciding it may be best to give a quick explanation of her presence before he started ignoring her like he did with Percy on the train, she introduced herself. "Yes, Professor Flitwick tasked me with being the one to monitor your studying for the rest of the school year; I believe he talked to you about this?"

"Yes, he did," Came the quick reply, "But he didn't say who he was considering for the task." He closed the book, before offering his spare hand to her.

Penny just smiled, taking the offered hand while saying "Penelope Clearwater, but you can call me Penny," offering her shorter name, hoping it would help lay the seeds of friendship.

Harry brought the offered hand to his lips and gave a light kiss before lowering it, putting his other hand now free of holding the book on top of her hand, "Harry James Potter, it's a _pleasure_ to meet such a fine lady." He said, offering a smile, quickly disarming her with his unexpected charm and sudden change of attitude, causing her to forget her planned response.

**Harry PoV**

Deciding it was better to start charming the girl early, if he was going to have to spend the rest of the school year with her watching him. Besides the girl was a Ravenclaw, and fifth year, so chances were she wouldn't be too annoying, and would prove to be rather knowledgeable and useful. Also, having a charmed prefect liking him would be sure to have additional benefits, if he ever decided to take a midnight walk with his dad's cloak.

Plus having an attractive girl liking him would be sure to help keep some of the older guys from annoying him. Especially the carrot-haired Percy who seemed to take it as his own self-appointed task to annoy Harry by throwing his position around and doing on-the-spot inspections of his book bag for banned items. After all, he had seen Percy trying to court the girl on a number of occasions. How better to get back at the ass, than by having the same girl he was charming, put him down?

He couldn't wait to see the carrot haired fool's reaction of having Penny protecting him, as he flashed his best smile.

After all, he couldn't fight Percy directly without drawing too much attention. Rather than having to deal with it himself, far better just to get another person to do it for him. If he was lucky he could spend the next three years using Penny as both a shield and a sword to get back at the guy. After all, the sorting hat would have made him a snake had it not been for the safety of the other students. It seemed sensible to embrace his cunning side, since it seemed foolish to just discard such traits simply because he was sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin.

Still holding the girl's hand waiting for her to respond, he decided to get to work on his self-appointed mission of charming Penny. Plus it would make some good practice since words could be just as deadly as swords, with far longer lasting effects, remembering a muggle saying about the pen being mightier than the sword. Bringing a smile to his face Harry suggested, "Penny, how about we get our books together and head back to the nest, so we can get to know each other better. After all, there's no point waiting until our first tutoring session when we're both free right now?" causing the girl to blush slightly, throwing her off-guard by the unexpected invitation.

She obviously wasn't expecting him to act in such a way, as she failed to respond. Not really surprising considering most first and second years would never act this way towards her. But he was a Lord and it was expected of him to a point. He tucked his books under his arm and led her away to the checkout desk, not waiting for her to agree.

Besides, if he was going to have this working relationship with her for the next year or so, he was going to be the one in control of it, as he had found asserting control early set the tone and structure of the friendship as he pulled the still speechless 5th year along.

**Common Room**

Upon arriving in the Ravenclaw common room, Harry made the quick decision that it was too busy there for them to have a comfortable chat. He also had to see Padma, after all he had already agreed to meet her. He considered his friend's loneliness. Maybe Penny could be a sister figure for Padma, to help her with not having Pav with her all time. After all, he was a guy, not exactly the best option for girly talks, or outpouring of emotions.

Turning towards Penny he said "Too busy in here for a good chat, follow me," leading her up the stairs like a doll, not waiting for her reply or her agreement. Before going to his room, he knocked on Padma's door and told her what was going on, so she could join them if she was interested.

Padma just waved him off, saying she would be there in a while, after she finished her chapter.

They quickly made themselves comfortable; as Penny went and transfigured the desk chair into something a little more comfortable, similar to the chairs in the common room. The conversation started slow as they were just getting more familiar with each other's presence. Harry took a laid-back approach and allowed Penny to lead the chat.

They discussed most things, while Harry avoided taking too much about his childhood. Penny, however, revealed that she had an older half-brother, five years her senior, who she rarely saw anymore. He was a non-magical like her mother and step-father were, making her the odd one out in the family.

"I understand, it was same with my relatives, they knew I was magical even before I did, they were scared of me, or envious," sharing a little about himself, thereby encouraging her to connect and open up with him.

His efforts were rewarded with a sad smile, one that often appeared when individuals had the common ground of being odd balls. Penny went on and let slip she wanted to work for the Ministry of Magic for a while, but was reconsidering her options.

Revealing a little more about himself, he explained how he wanted to travel the world, and see its many wonders, because he had always been trapped at his aunt's, and had only ever read of the wonders of world. Now he had a chance to see them and more, and he was going to take his chance. Penny agreed that it was something she was interested in as well. As the chat went on, Harry gave Penny a display of his current skills and abilities, only holding a little back. He could tell Penny was rather impressed at his knowledge considering he was only a first year. By the time Penny was fully aware of his talent; it was time for her scheduled patrol of the halls.

When their chat ended, Harry invited her to join him and Padma, whenever she wanted. He knew it would help build-up trust and influence, as they had many things in common at first glance.

After giving a final goodbye, Harry went to talk to Padma since she had failed to show up.

While walking to his friend's room he couldn't help but smile, he had already made a good impression he could tell. Maybe it was due to his advancing skills in the mind arts. He knew being empathic was one of the many benefits of training.

As he got to know her better in the future he would be able to sense her emotions clearer, before being able to easily view her surface thoughts. He couldn't wait until that asshole Percy saw them together. He would be forced to be civil, especially if he wanted to continue to court Penny without looking like a giant ass and jerk to him in front of Penny.

He liked Penny, but the additional incentive of pissing Percy off was so worth the time and effort to encourage their friendship.

Knocking on Padma's door, but getting no response, he tried the door handle only to reveal the sleeping first year comfortably lounging on her bed. He decided to leave her to her dreams, but not before covering her with her bed sheet and putting her books on the table rather letting them get damaged should she roll on top of them or get knocked off the bed.

Silently closing the door, Harry made his way back to his room to read up on magical dogs. He was curious as to what was on the third floor. Now he added two more missions alongside getting ranked number one in end-of-year exams, first, was to find out about the third floor. The second was befriending Penny just to piss Percy off.

Thinking about Penny and Percy's relationship, he couldn't understand why she kept the ass around; they were opposites from what he saw of them. He knew he was being a bit of an ass by using Penny to get at Percy, but he came to a simple conclusion: Percy had started this, with his childish abuse of his position and its powers.

Besides, as far as he was concerned he was a better person than his carrot-haired foe, so why shouldn't he play for keeps with Penny being the prize for the winner? Smiling, he was sure he would win; after all, it was clear Penny was already annoyed with Percy at the moment for whatever reason; he just had to exploit that.

Now it was time to read about Hagrid's three-headed dog and hopefully get an idea of what's really going on.

**Next Morning**

The next morning Harry woke and did his normal routine before preparing for the day ahead. He was managing to do more push ups and sit ups than before. He also noticed in the mirror that he was starting to look less thin, as he put on weight and muscle. A couple months of good eating and several powerful potions were doing wonders for him and his malnourished and abused body.

Noticing it was still rather early, he decided to spend some time in his mind's codex, and organize his most recent memories as well as adding additional defences to his primitive mindscape that he picked up the last couple of weeks. He even added a magical chess set connected to the door defending his codex. Instead of just having a simple locking charm on the door, he connected it to the chess set. One had to win a game of chess against Harry's mind, before they could see Harry's memories.

He also picked up his book on the mind arts, deciding to reread the section on empathy, wondering just how much this ability was going to develop in the upcoming years. After all, the skill was rather useful in a myriad number of situations, but he would much prefer to be able to consciously control it, rather than having it turn on and off at random, because several times he had been caught off guard by the impressions it provided.

Thinking over everything that had transpired in the last couple of days, he noticed that this was the fifth day in a row that he had woken up early in the morning, after only having about six hours rest. Surely he should be exhausted from waking up early all those days, most of the students weren't even up before seven, but Harry was going to bed between 10 to 12 in the evening and waking up between 4 and 6 the next morning.

Maybe he should talk to someone about this. He had also been feeling increasingly restless of late, but he would wait and see before he went to the school nurse. No point in drawing additional attention to himself at this early juncture.

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note: **Remember the mind arts are about being able to view memories and these memories are driven by emotion, that's why controlling one's emotions is a part of the process of locking one's mind in codex and the creation of a mindscape.

And that long-term exposure to individuals allows one to 'read' their emotional state easier, and is the reason why Harry can sense Padma's own emotions since they are close friends. Legilimency, I think, is a twofold process, and that being able to 'read' people starts after developing the mind to a point, i.e., organizing the mind allows the first stages of Legilimency and that starts with developing a degree of uncontrollable empathy or developing telepathy, before resulting in the passive controlled ability of Legilimency over a period of time.


	8. Y1 Damsels in Distress

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe**, and mature themes - Unsure Let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 8: ******Damsels in Distress ****

**Rewritten Edition**

**Revised and Beta by R1ncewind1 on 20th December 2012**

**Several weeks later**

Harry had fallen into a routine of waking up early in the morning, and going to bed late in the evening; simply due to not being able to sleep more than 6 hours on average a day. Whilst most of his peers would use such extra time for fun and games, he spent his extra time exploring the castle, as well as diving further into his study of magic. This was made possible by every Ravenclaw student having their own room to study in, so they wouldn't disrupt their year mates' own studies. No other house had this set up, the Puffs and Griffs had shared dorm rooms containing 4 to 5 students, whilst Slytherin only had two students in each room.

There were also rumours that this was going to change soon, since it was considered unfair by those in the other houses whom knew about it. Even some of the older students considered it unfair, though usually for reasons beyond the purely academic benefits having their own rooms provide, since students in the other houses generally had to find an empty classroom, or broom cupboard whenever they wanted a private get together with their Girl-/Boy- or pillow-friend.

Which was something he regularly discovered during his exploration of the castle at night; naturally most students forgot just how serious ravens got when it came to their studies, and getting the top spots, and weren't above sabotaging each other projects to do so. Especially when competing over apprenticeships and scholarships with some of the finest academics in the country.

Besides finding the odd couple or two during his night time wanderings, he had discovered several secret passages and other forgotten rooms around the school. All these night time adventures were possible due to using his father's invisibility cloak, combined with regular silencing charms on his shoes so he could move through the halls of Hogwarts, unseen, unheard, like a wraith.

Despite being invisible, he still made an effort to avoid teachers and prefect patrols, not wishing to tempt his luck after his first night of exploring the castle. On the first night he had an unfortunate encounter with the caretaker's cat, which had almost got him caught. Before he remembered that felines had increase sense of smell, as well other senses. This meant that he was taking extra care and effort to avoid Professor McGonagall as well, just in case she had the ability due to her feline animagus form.

After his close run-in with the caretaker's cat, he quickly found a scent removal charm the next day. A couple nights he ventured into the restricted section of the Library, and had spent several hours going over some of the rarer texts. At best what you could find in there was 'gray knowledge' but the additional academic theories and arguments were useful, as well as helped pass the time.

During one such night, he had found a passage going out of the castle, by chance to the local village, when he saw a pair of sixth year Gryffindor students sneaking back to the school, loaded down with fire whiskey. Well he thought they were sixth years, but kind of hard to tell in the darkness. Of course, he ran into several other groups and couples in his nightly adventures, which were busy with their own adventures; such as the Weasley twins setting up pranks, or couples snogging totally blind to the world around them.

After recovering from the initial surprise of it the first couple of times, because frankly rounding a corner or opening an unlocked door to find a couple going at it, would make any first year stop in their tracks and ponder. Not that sex was anything he wasn't already aware of, far from it really; he had been one of those kids which had ventured into the library to work out where babies came from after not believing the teacher's answer of mummies and daddies loving each other very much, and a big bird delivering them a child.

He couldn't really remember much of it in detail, since he was only seven at the time. But he could remember the physical education teacher's shocked face when he asked that innocent question; how the woman's face seemed to wrestle with mixtures of emotions like surprise, concern, alarm before the elder teacher stepped in and fired off an automatic answer. Thinking back on it, it shouldn't have been all that surprising to his teachers, and outside world that he would seek answers? Don't all orphans question their existence? Where they came from? What happen to mum and dad?

He had just been an orphan seeking answers to his life, trying to gain some understanding of the world, and questioning his own mistreatment by his relatives, and why he wasn't loved. At least he knew now, that his parents hadn't abandoned him, nor were they drunks, but had instead been betrayed and murdered by one of their closest friends, Sirius Black. With the help of one of Lord Voldemort's top lieutenant Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband and his brother plus an unknown Death Eater who had escaped into the night.

He didn't really know how to feel about his godfather's betrayal, he couldn't define it. But at least he could take comfort in the fact that they were rotting away in jail, with their happiness being sucked out of them by Dementors.

Pushing his thoughts away from such depressing and negatives feelings, his thoughts strayed back to the encounters with the couples snogging or more which had become a source of entertainment to liven up the night.

He would deliberately make loud noises nearby to scare them, or he would float objects and drop them. It may be mean to do it, but that's what happens when you don't lock the door! Then anyone can walk right in. At least it was better that he was scaring them, rather than Snape turning up half way through their activities, scaring the couple for life.

He always left when the couples started getting more serious, since it was private and didn't feel right to stay and watch them, even though he was interested in seeing more. He left even faster when by chance he came across a pair of guys starting to make out. It just wasn't natural, it just didnt feel right to him...Not that he had any personal issue against it, expect it went against all Darwin's theories, and natural selection ect...

During one night of exploring another section of the castle, he had gone to the 3rd floor to investigate Fluffy the Cerberus. The door itself was easy to open with a standard unlocking charm. He was actually a bit disappointed that the door was that easy to bypass.

Opening the door to reveal 'Fluffy' had been an impressive sight. He could understand why the Headmaster had chosen to use the Cerberus as guard dog, for whatever it was meant to be guarding as all six eyes looked at the door where Harry was standing. He could see darkness turn and swirl around the creatures, as a feeling of dread radiated off the Cerberus.

However the 'dog' just went back to its sleep. This startled him back in to action from his moment of indecision, when he realized the 'dog' couldn't detect his presence despite is advanced senses. Examining the three head dog, taking in the sight of the deadly magical creature, only upon examining its claws, did he finally noticed that beneath its monstrous paws was a trapdoor right in the middle of the room.

Whilst interested in learning more about what Hagrid's pet was guarding, he cautioned himself about going any further, having no means to get past the creature or knowledge of what lay further ahead. However as he was just closing the door, he saw faint markings similar to runes described in several of texts boxes he had viewed, unfortunately as soon as he started inspecting the door in more detail, he realized it was covered in charged runes for some type of ward.

Before he could think it over anymore, he could hear rapidly approaching footsteps rushing his way. Instinctively triggering him to flee the scene, having no desire to explain himself, slipping into the shadows further up the corridor in a side passageway. Looking back down the corridor from the shadows, he saw the headmaster rushing to the room, with his wand drawn at the ready, 'Detection ward' his mind answered, as the aged wizard examined the door. Not moving from his makeshift hiding place as he watched the headmaster examine the scene, He was thankful for Bloodmoon having ordered the inspection of his family's invisibility cloak, prior to coming to Hogwarts. The goblins had discovered and removed close to two dozen spells. Most were tracking and detection charms, those one was a light compulsion charm of unknown intent.

This resulted in the Cloak being cleansed of any foreign magic by using a Goblin ritual, and led to Bloodmoon adding 'heirloom damage charges' to the headmaster's growing list of criminal activities for the future. Some of the tracking charms had been transferred onto a spare piece of junk at his request, and that piece of 'junk' was currently sitting in his vault.

From his spot he watched silently as the headmaster carried on inspecting the door, obviously checking the runes that he himself had been examining minutes earlier. Once again confirming his belief, that there was some type of detection ward on the door. This had immediately alerted the headmaster to someone attempting to open the door.

He then spent the rest of the night checking books on wards; seeing if he could recognize the ward guarding the door, based on the runes he saw, and then trying to find a means to bypass them. The thrill of that evening had awoken his lion's courage and his desire for adventure. But he was a raven, which meant he would plan his next move first, with logical steps, slowly working towards his goal.

Besides researching wards and runes, he had started researching how to brew the Draught of Living Death. Mainly due to the potions professor having said in one of his classical rant like lectures, that it could put an individual into a death-like sleep, hence the name, giving him a possible means to get passed the three headed dog. Of course, he would still have to brew it, since he could hardly ask for help. The rest of his time was spent focusing on his studies; he moved his attention away from charms since he was on target for mastering his goal, instead deciding to focus on some of his weaker subjects. Fortunately having Penny study with him regularly helped speed up the process, whilst providing extra bits of information only gained from practical experience.

During one of his study sessions with Penny; Daphne and her friends had sat with them, but were far less talkative than normal, clearly due to Penny's presence. Harry had explained how younger year Ravens often had a mentor or a monitor to help them out during their first year or two to ensure they developed the correct 'Ravenclaw' work ethic, and to help encourage inner house unity between the years, which seemed to make them relax a bit.

Then he explained how Penny was using him as a shield to help keep away Percy, since he disliked Harry for some reason, while giving the group his best innocent expression. It had been rather funny watching Penny's face turned bright red in embarrassment, and tried to deny the comment, which had only resulted in low small smiles and bit of snickering from around the table, at the thought of a first year protecting a fifth year, and helped break the tension in the air.

Penny then went on and stated, "Percy is all well and good, but he just does not understand the need for some peace and quiet, and doesn't know when to take the hint to leave a girl alone." This caused another round of smiles; however Harry was wondering why Penny was willing to be so helpful.

Of course, he knew Penny had been charged with being his 'mentor' for a year, and had some responsibilities for him. From everything he knew of Penny, he knew she was helpful, since she helped other younger years and was generally considered a kind-hearted girl by the student body as whole. But it still didn't explain why she seemed bit over eager to stay in his good graces. Maybe because she considered him a brother or something along those lines, he hoped that was the case.

However, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was another motive behind her eagerness to help him out. It reminded him a bit too much of his uncle bragging about buttering up his clients, before saying the price of the sale, or when his uncle would invite around his bosses for dinner, and 'kiss' ass to get his promotion or a sale. After all, why hang out with them besides to piss Percy off? Surely she had other friends in the upper years she could use as buffer just as effectively? All these things had him thinking over Penny's motive, but at the moment he felt like he was missing an angle. But as long as it was doing him no harm, he was fine with it. Since he was benefiting from her knowledge and insight gained from having 5 years of education in wielding magic, so it was a win-win situation for both of them.

After all, most friendships had a reason behind them, just what was the reasoning behind Penny's actions? He wanted to know just for his own peace of mind. Daphne's and Tracy's friendship, or at least partnership was for better grades, so what was Penny's?

Maybe it was just fear of being betrayed or hurt by someone he liked that was bugging him? Unfortunately he couldn't forget from history, how many times a dagger in the back from a 'friend' had ended reigns and lives. His parents were an example of how a betrayal from a friend could be devastating, and then there was also Caesar's own friend Brutus who betrayed him, resulting in his death and a start of a civil war. He wouldn't allow it to happen to him, he wouldn't allow himself to be stabbed in the back.

Turning his thoughts to more positive ones, rather than dwelling on the negatives ones, he thought about Padma, and her budding friendship with Tracy. She was a lot like Parvati; a very talkative person as soon as you got passed her shell, and if he was any judge, Tracey gave Padma the female friend she needed. He didn't pay much attention to their gossiping, though he noticed that Daphne was happy that they were hitting it off well, now that ice had been broken enough between the pair.

It was obvious that Daphne needed a break, from the constant gossip Tracy could produce. Daphne and his friendship was developing well, as he was more and more frequently able to bring out small smiles from behind her mask. He in addition had made the connection that Daphne had some training in Occlumency, since he was rarely able to feel her emotions, like he did with Tracy. Whenever he picked up Tracy's emotions, they were lively and energized; to be honest it was refreshing. He was half tempted to ask Daphne about it, but thought better of it, and decided to wait until they got a chance to talk alone, outside school, rather than risk being overheard by the many listening ears in the school.

The four of them had developed their own study group of sorts. Blaise would tag along, but didn't speak much. He gave off the impression of uncaring, and of being distant, similar to Daphne in some ways. But when Harry caught his eyes, he knew it was an act, aimed to disarm people around him. It was clear Blaise disliked him for some reason, but at least he acted civil around Harry unlike some people, such as Ron and Draco. A couple times during these study group sessions, he saw the Lioness Hermione eyeing them warily from across the room from her own desk.

The girl was obviously lonely; he didn't have to be empathic to pick it up. It was clear from her body language that she wanted company but couldn't bring herself to join them out of pride. Simply put, the girl was being a typical Lion in her attitude towards them, probably just because of the snakes being there, and buying into that whole crap about the whole Slytherin being evil that Ron and Neville blurted out rather frequently.

Just shaking his head, he really hoped the girl would open her eyes and realize the reason she was alone was because she had driven away all the other Lions by flaunting her knowledge in front of them and making them feel stupid. No one likes feeling inferior.

Leaving the girl, He wondered when she would finally work up the courage to talk to them that her own house was famed for.

**Midnight Lord**

**Halloween**

Harry had been feeling down all week. This was the week that the dark lord had finally been defeated, but to him the celebrations felt wrong; his parents had been murdered 10 years ago by the dark lord's followers. People expected him to carry on like nothing happened. Out of his 'friends' he had been the only one who lost family in the war. The rest had just heard stories from their families.

Eventually Padma pieced together the clues, and realized the reason why he was down, when she had caught him reading his mother's letter, and had warned the others to keep their distance. He knew in time the feelings of loss would lessen, but it still didn't make it easier with everyone celebrating. He had sent Padma down to the feast, saying that he would prefer to be alone, with some space to get his feelings in check.

One of the things that annoyed Harry a bit was Neville; the boy just didn't seem affected that the magical world was celebrating the day his parents were murdered. True, he supposed Neville had had a long time to make his peace with the whole ordeal, and had grown up with the knowledge. The only reason he was taking it so hard was because he only found out this summer, hence the emotions were still raw.

Leaving the peace and quiet of the library and heading to his dorm, he had finally found a means to get past the warded door. All Harry needed to do was place a series of counter runes at the door and charge them; they would interfere with the ward for a length of time which depended on the power of the original charge on the door.

He still had to get passed the dog and the next set of protections. However the sound of a couple of girls screaming brought his attention back to reality. He rushed toward the sound. Maybe it wasn't his smartest moment. After all, screaming is never a good thing. His wand jumped into his hand as he ran. Rushing down the corridor and almost colliding with Neville and Ron. Before either of them could say anything another series screams sent the trio into a head long sprint to the source.

Somehow he arrived first at the girl's bathroom, and nearly slammed into the partly opened door, which revealed a massive troll wielding a wooden club, smashing the nearby sinks with each swing of its club, hitting the older girl that he now realize was Penny with fragments. Time seemed to slow down, as his friend was hit.

Penny fell to the ground, out cold as blood started appearing from the base of her skull, the sight of blood and his injured friend, spurred him into action, and he sent a powerful fire spell, causing the wooden club to catch fire, and the troll dropping it immediately out of primal instinct. By this time the Lions had arrived and were spurred into action, sending their own array of spells at the troll, which caused the behemoth of a troll to turn around and bull charge them.

Harry dodged as the troll charged him, realizing their spells were having no effect, and that the troll had resistance to magic. The spells were just angering the troll further, like flies swarming round a picnic basket. He looked around in a panic, trying to suppress his rising fear, while trying to come up with an on the spot plan.

The troll braced itself and lurched forward in a bull rush towards him once again. Harry instinctively jumped aside while sending a freezing charm at the flooded floor, causing the troll to crash into the wall.

Looking at the smashed sink next to troll triggered an idea. With a stab of his wand Harry transfigured it into a steel tipped spear, like the ones he had seen some of the statues wielded in the corridors throughout Hogwarts. Thankfully the spell took hold, and transformed into a replica.

During this he heard Neville shout to Ron, who was still frozen in fear, "Get Hermione out of here," before sending another sink at the troll keeping it from getting back on its feet, as it collided with the back of the trolls head.

Harry meanwhile started levitating the spear in the air like he did in charms with a feather. Feeling the continuous drain on his magic, he lined it up with the troll before sending his strongest banishing charm at the spear while visualizing his intentions of holding the spear like an archer; pulling back the bowstring, forcing his magic into the spear, before releasing it. The drain on his magic increased.

The spear surged forward, piercing the troll's chest, as it charged towards them. The force of the spear caused the troll to stagger backwards, with the spear tip exiting its back impaling it on the wall.

He collapsed to the ground, his heart was beating rapidly, sweat was on his brow. Looking up he saw that the troll was still alive, but bleeding out before his eyes. Half crawling over to check on Penny, Harry placed two fingers on her neck feeling a pulse and taking deliberate care to avoid moving her in case of spinal damage. Looking again at the troll, he saw it die before his eyes; Harry couldn't bring himself to care that it was dying, it had been him or the troll, survival of the fittest, it was natural, primal in a way.

The troll had been a danger that needed to be removed, that had tried to kill a person he considered a friend, despite her possible ulterior motives for being one. It had endangered lives of others. He kept watching as its chest slowly stop rising.

Realizing that he had taken a life, he felt remorse and sickness rising, but he buried the emotions before checking back on his friend. Seeing the blood pool increasing, he wondered what else he could do. Harry didn't want to attempt to heal something this serious. He could make it so much worse, but at the same time he could feel her pulse weakening.

Turning in the direction of the trio he shouted out "Go get help quick, she's lost a lot blood, and needs help immediately," which caused them to look at him stupidly before he shouted again, his anger and concern mixed. "She is dying you idiots go and try to find a teacher, NOW!"

The red head fool replied in anger, "What about Hermione?"

He looked him in the eye and replied with more anger at the boy's stupidity. "Hermione is just in shock, she will be fine. Now get help you fucking fool, before my friend dies due to your stupidity," turning back to Penny.

He ignore whatever the boy was saying, the boy was an idiot of the highest order. However he was fortunate as the vanguards of the professors arrived. The professors quickly went to work as Professor Snape and Flitwick made their way over and started treating Penny.

The potions master produced a vial of red liquid and forced the substance down her throat before saying in cold dispassionate tone, "We need to get her to the hospital wing quickly," before levitating the girl out of the bathroom.

Harry made to follow, but was stopped by a professor checking him over and bombarding him with questions. His Occlumency shields were collapsing from the constant strain of emotions. Everything from anger and hatred, to remorse and piety before saying in anger, "Enough! It's not my blood, its Penny's," trying to leave to get to the hospital wing.

"Mr Potter please stop, we need to talk about what happen here" came the elderly voice he came to allocated with the headmaster. Feeling his heir ring burn as he realizing the headmaster was trying to use Legilimency on him.

Forcing his barriers back up, sealing his mind against the intrusion, anger flowing off him "I will not answer any of your fucking questions until I know my friend is going to be fine, and if you don't stop trying to mind rape me.." he let his sentence trail off before running off towards the hospital, leaving them all in shock.

Harry was making a mental note of the headmaster's attempt, to add to his growing list of criminal charges against the man.

**Hospital Wing.**

Harry sat on one of the beds watching silently as the healer went about her business with dutiful professionalism, while the potion master assisted where possible. He spent the time trying to re-order his emotions, and suppressing the rest for later. The Gryffindor trio turned up with the rest of the professors, which he chose to ignore, preferring to watch as his friend was treated, whilst mentally noting down bits and pieces of what he saw.

Professor Snape went over and gave the shaken lioness some kind of potion resulting in her falling asleep almost instantly on one of the beds, "calming draught combined with a dreamless sleeping potion," the potion master offered in explanation before Neville or Ron could say anything. Before doing a quick examination of the pair himself since the matron was busy, before dismissing the lion cubs back to their common room since they were perfectly fine. From the corner of his eye he saw several of the staff watching him with interest, he was wondering how long until the questioning started again.

As the healer made her way over to them, Professor Flitwick was first to ask what was on everyone's mind, "Poppy is she going to be all right?" It was easy to see he was clearly concerned about his student well being.

"She'll be fine, but it was close, couple more minutes and she would have died. She needs at least a week to recover," the healer replied with a serious tone, before turning to Harry and started examining him, her wand moving quickly, casting several spells at time, as he sat on one of the empty beds.

"I am fine Madam really," trying to get out of nurse's way, "None of the blood is mine. It's mostly Penny's," whilst looking at his friend, "I'm just tired," he offered, trying to stop the nurse examining him.

"I'll be the judge of that Mr Potter," she replied with seriousness, continuing on checking him over for any injury, like a mother hen.

"Now since Miss Clearwater is going be survive, it's time to discuss what happened" Stated rather than asked the headmaster.

He really couldn't be bothered with it, but just nodded his head, hoping the questioning would be quick.

Headmaster continued "What happened? Why weren't you in the great hall with the rest of your peers?" the educator asked in demanding tone.

"I was in the Library studying, and was on my way back to my room when if heard screaming, and headed off in the direction to investigate. On the way there I bumped into Neville and Ron who were charging towards the screaming from the other corridor. For whatever reason, I reach the bathroom first, and saw Penny trying to defend Hermione, but got hit in the head in the process, and was knocked out."

Taking a breath before continuing, "The troll was preparing to hit her again, so I set the club alight with an '_Incendio' _charm forcing it to drop its weapon. By this time Neville and his lapdog Ron arrived, and charged into the fight," before he could continue he was interrupted by the headmaster.

"Is it necessary to insult two brave students who just helped save your friends life?" the aged educator asked with clear disapproval.

Harry took a moment to reply, collecting his response, "You are mistaken," making the headmaster blink at the challenge. "I only insulted one of them, and it's a fair description of their relationship. Ron follows Neville around like a dog follows its owner, and he has since they arrived at Hogwarts. Furthermore Ron's actions almost cost my friend her life. So I don't care, to me Ron's nothing but a fool," he said looking away. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a subtle smile on the potion master's face, while he was explaining his thoughts about Ron.

Professor McGonagall interrupted before headmaster could ask another question, in a defensive manner, "Why do you say he almost got Miss Clearwater killed?"

Replying straight way, "That's simple to answer. First throughout the fight, he was getting in my way blocking my line of sight, preventing me from helping. In addition he was throwing jinx and prank spells which had no effect against a troll, and a number times he was standing right next to the girls. If the troll had chosen to charge him instead of me or Longbottom, they would be injured further. Or in Penny's case just become a pile of crushed bones in the middle of a pool of blood, just like when a human steps on an insect," He said, whilst creating a clear mental image of what would have happened to the Ravenclaw prefect if the troll had chosen to charge Ron.

"Even after the troll was killed, he refused to go and get help, even when I told him Penny was dying, preferring to stay with his housemate rather than get help due to his damn pride, and not liking taking orders from a Raven," giving the deputy a disapproving look, "Like I said, he's an idiot and a fool," in angry tone.

Pausing allowing his argument to register before continuing, "Let me guess, he told you another story how he charged in and single handily saved the girl and defeated the beast," he said with a good measure of sarcasm, looking at the increasingly red faced McGonagall, who obviously had heard a story along those lines. Snape's smile seemed to grow with her embarrassment, clearly having a similar opinion of Ron.

"Let's continued Mr. Potter, and please try to refrain from insulting a fellow class mate," the headmaster asked, clearly ignoring his statement.

Rolling his eyes in annoyance before continuing "I realized quickly that direct spells were having no effect, I also remember that a number of species have high magical resistance such as dragons," he said, remembering the reading material from the COMC books he got from the library. "So when the troll tried to charge me, I cast a freezing charm on the wet floor, resulting in the troll smashing into the wall due to its own forward momentum. The ice also had the added effect of making it difficult for the troll to keep its balance, making it difficult for it to get back to feet up." Seeing the professor nodded before continuing.

"Neville came to same conclusion I did, and swapped to using indirect spells, such as using a banishing charm, and sending rubble at it, preventing the troll from regaining its balance and its feet. Neville then ordered Ron to get Hermione out of the room." Pausing looking over where his friend was before continuing.

"During this I realized just how serious Penny's injuries were, due to the increasing amount of blood on the floor; and the need to end the fight as fast as possible to get help. I reached the conclusion that it needed to die, before one of us got seriously hurt since we were both tiring. We couldn't contain it in the bathroom, and we couldn't move Penny either in case we made the injuries worse. At the same time we couldn't allow it to wander off into the rest of the castle, where it could endanger other students. And frankly I had no idea if the rest of the castle knew of it, or even the staff," looking at the room. So killing it seemed the best option."

Sighing looking at the staff with a serious expression, "So I transfigured a broken sink into a spear like the ones around Hogwarts, and levitated it into position before aiming for the chest, where I thought its heart and other organs would be. Mainly since the head or neck is such a small target; and sent the most powerful banisher I could at it when it next attempted to charge us."

Taking another breath, "Well you know the rest of the story, I spent the next couple minutes attending to Penny and trying to get Ron to go for help, when you lot finally turned up." making gesture towards the staff.

Flitwick just nodded with a sad smile, following his logic. Snape seem to be weighing him, whilst the rest were a mix between shock and awe, not that he could blame them, who would think a first year could kill a troll? The headmaster was giving him a serious look, before speaking again, "Do you feel no remorse for taking a life? You just killed another living creature?" the age wizard accused, noticing Harry's cold dispassionate tone.

Looking at the headmaster in the eye as he spoke, "Not anymore, it attacked me and my friend. It tried to kill me, and almost killed the girl no more than 5 feet behind you. It also tried to kill that girl too." He answered, pointing out the sleeping lion, "So no I don't feel guilt or remorse for doing what must be done, I did what was necessary." Not giving the headmaster time to response, he decided to go on the offensive, "I was under the impression that Hogwarts was the safest place in Britain, yet a troll manages to get inside these walls, and walks down the corridors? I was under the impression it was the staff who were responsible for safety, so I have to ask why was a troll roaming these halls? And why do you have a pet Cerberus on the 3rd floor? Obviously my views on safety are different from yours," giving the professors a cold look, causing some to recoil at him pointing out their clear failure.

Getting off the bed, "I'm going to my dorm to get changed out of these blood covered clothes, then I'm going have a nice hot shower before trying to get some sleep; I doubt I will, but I'll try," making his way to the door.

"I didn't say you were dismissed Mr. Potter," the headmaster replied in a stern tone, looking over to him.

"I didn't ask to be, I was just telling you what's going to happen," continuing towards the door, before Professor Flitwick spoke up in the stunned silence, "50 points to Ravenclaw, for saving a follow student's life, now good night."

He didn't turn around, just nodded, in a cold voice said. "I didn't do it for points, I did it because it was the right thing to do, and my friend's recovery is all the reward I need," before leaving the once again stunned professors.

**Next Morning**

Harry had a rather restless night, no scratch that; he'd barely slept at all. He didn't end up falling asleep to almost half five in the morning, just to be woken up by Padma, who had heard from the rumour mill about what had happen and wanted answers; or rather what the rumour mill had heard from the Lions. Knowing he couldn't get out of it and knowing he would have to answer her questions eventually, he bought a brief delay by at least taking a hot shower, giving him a chance to collect his thoughts prior to meeting her in the Ravenclaw common room, which would no doubt lead to the whole house asking questions.

He didn't feel like dealing with it really; he was tempted to just lock himself in his room for the remainder of the day, just so he could get his own peace of mind. Even if the logical part of him still argued relentless that his actions were necessary, he still had killed, and that was something he was having problems making his peace with. However as he sauntered down the stairs to the common room, his prediction turned out to be true. Over half of the house seemed to have gathered, and were tightly packed into the chairs, waiting impatiently to hear of his adventure of the previous day.

Freezing on the stairs, like a deer would in front of the head lights of a car, trying to decide whether to go back up to the dorm door, or just get it over and done with. Unfortunately before he could take a step back up the stairs, someone finally noticed him. "Harry" one of his first year classmates said, causing the whole common to look at him, as a single word echoed around in his mind: 'crap.' Seeing that he couldn't get out of it now, at least he could try and control it so he wasn't hounded all day and night about it. Just as they were about to bombard him with their questions, he raised his hand to stop the barrage and get their combined attention. "I'll say what happen once, and answer any questions for the next 30 minutes, and then you'll have to ask a Professor or one of the lions although I doubt the Lions will provide you with an accurate recounting of the tale," he said disapprovingly, already expecting that the story would be inflated, and stretched over upcoming days.

Taking a seat since he didn't fancy standing the whole time, he slipped into story teller mode, answering questions as he went while pointing out some useful insights he had about troll's resistance to direct magic, and recommended indirect magic, and more physical spells.

Whilst recounting and lecturing about the previous night's events, he noticed that several of the students seemed to be writing down notes of what he was saying, for whatever reason, probably in case they ever ran into their own troll in the future, or maybe they wanted to be historians? Mentally chuckling at the scene he created in his mind, as a Ravenclaw asked the troll to stop attacking him so he could consult his notes on how to kill a troll. By the time he was finally finished answering their combined questions, and correcting them where the rumour mill had got it wrong, over an hour had passed.

He tried escaping the common room during a short pause in their interrogation, to get down to the kitchen so he could get something to eat; Just to be ambushed by more students in the corridors and the hallways, who were just as eager for him to tell his tale of the events of the previous day, resulting in him using the secret passage ways around the castle as much as possible to avoid getting cornered by other students. The only highlight of the whole ordeal was that the classes had been cancelled for the day as the staff investigated the events of the previous night.

He tried to get along with his day best he could but it was annoying. He only recounted the events of the previous evening to Daphne and Tracy, since they had already heard rumours which were for the most part grossly incorrect. At least Daphne agreed with him that slaying the troll was necessary, stating it was 5 lives for the price of one. However another point of their group discussion was how a giant mountain troll got into the grounds in the first place? How did it get passed the wards? When Hogwarts was meant to be the safest place in the whole of Britain, before Daphne stated she would be informing her father of what happened.

The next couple of days followed in a similar pattern just with classes acting as a buffer, as students continued to watch him, as the rumours of the 'bathroom battle' were becoming increasingly inaccurate, to the point where Harry was all but dropped from the tale. Until Draco once again reminded the student body of Harry's involvement just to shut up Ron's glorified recounting of his own role. Harry himself spent most of his time in his room whenever possible, simply to avoid the stares and questions, with Padma joining him to avoid getting herself swamped with questions from those that couldn't find him.

In the evenings they visited the hospital wing together, to see if Penny was going to be brought out of the magically induced-coma the next day. A couple of times they saw other groups of students visiting, the majority of them from Ravenclaws, with Percy turning up regularly, always glancing at harry with looks containing both envy and hate.

Allowing him to quickly reach the conclusion that Percy desired to play the role of knight in shining armour, and rescue the fair maiden himself. It was rather common knowledge that Percy had a crush on the Ravenclaw prefect.

During one such meeting between the pair, Percy couldn't resist trying to throw his weight around. Percy tried to get him to leave, with a concerned boyfriend act asking for privacy to be alone with his beloved girlfriend. He naturally replied that Penny wasn't his girlfriend, and added that his brother Ron almost got her killed through his stupidly, as well a number of other insults, which of course resulting in Percy displaying his Weasley temper as well as him immediately getting thrown out of the hospital wing by the enraged Poppy after receiving an intense lecture about casting spells around injured people undergoing magical healing, with instructions not to return unless he himself was dying.

Harry just smirked across the room as Percy was escorted out, 'another point to me, maybe I should tell Penny how Percy tried claiming her as his girlfriend whilst she was busy playing the role of sleeping beauty. He was sure that would get the girl fired up, and help her heal faster just to jinx the red-head fool. However he was more concern with his own thoughts of Snow White, and knights in shining armour, before dismissing it on being in a magical castle.

**Hospital Wing**

Penny opened her eyes slowly, raising her hand trying to block out the blinding light shining down in to her heavy eyes. Her head was pounding away, reminding her of her first hangover she had the day after her cousin's wedding. Every bone seemed too ached as well, bringing back memories of when she had tried to walk up the stairs before falling down and breaking her arm. Looking around, she finally saw the school healer looking down on her, waving her wand around. It was then she realized she was in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, making her wonder how she ended up here in the first place? Focusing on trying to remember what had happened, just to remember comforting a first year Gryffindor who was crying in a bathroom, to the sudden repulsive smell and the appearance of a troll, and then nothing

Miss Clearwater, you're in the hospital wing, currently undergoing treatment for a head injury you suffered a couple nights ago" the healer explained whilst waving her wand casting several unknown spells.

The next couple of minutes were a blur, as Poppy did a series of tests, checking on her muscle reflexes and memory, only resulting in giving her an even bigger headache than she started with in the first place.

Fortunately enough her head of house came over and the matron had to end her testing, "It's good to see that you're going to have a full recovery, Miss Clearwater. My fifth year charms class has been ever so dull without you," He said joyfully, with a smile.

"Thank you Professor, what happened?" she asked, her curiosity coming through in a typical Ravenclaw manner.

The short professor replied in a story teller tone, "Well let me tell you the tale of how you ended up in Poppy's care," gesturing to the healer by his side, in her own chair.

After hearing the professor's recounting of the night, she was a bit speechless, and shocked. Internally her brain was saying' that's what happens when you try to be a hero. I should have just run, leave the fighting to the lions. After all, it's what their famous for!' However her own internal berating of her own stupidly of trying to stand toe to toe with a mountain troll came to an end when professor Flitwick asked how she ended up in the bathroom.

Recounting what she could recall to the professor, thinking over everything she could remember, her mind piecing together what happened as she slowly recount her story, before seeing the troll, "When I realize it was blocking the door, making an escape near impossible, I decide to try and distract it, to allow the first year to escape, after that I don't remember what happened," she said sadly, a bit disappointed that she couldn't provide more in way of details.

"That's fine dear," Poppy responding in a motherly tone, "It's not uncommon for bit of memory loss given the situation, it should return in time." The nurse said with a sad reassuring smile.

"Now Miss Clearwater, let me reward you with 25 points for your bravery in defending another student, and another 15 for providing morale support in a time of need," the professor said with a proud tone. "Now I think some of your friends want to see you," He finished with a big smile before jumping from his chair, and flicking his wand to open the door allowing a rush of students to pour in.

The matron clearly wanted to say something, but her head of house seemed to stop whatever protest the nurse had with a shake of his head. The next few hours were a blur as the whole of Ravenclaw house had turned up to see her and give their best wishes. Much to her own amusement was when Percy turned up as he was almost instantly driven out of the hospital wing by Poppy.

Watching Percy being driven out, she could see a couple of amused smiles on the faces of Harry and Padma, clearly knowing why the nurse had reacted so strongly to Percy's arrival, giving the impression that it was their doing, before she dismissed.

Eventually the resident healer seemed to grow bored of playing host to so many students and finally declared the need for her rest, and drove everyone out, then went about providing her with another set of potions.

Left to her own thoughts, she ran through everything she had learned. It was bit shocking to learn she had been saved by a couple of first years, and that Harry had killed the troll in the bathroom himself. She knew she had received the official story, but she would have to wait another couple of days to hear what really happened. Yawning as the potions took their combined effect, which caused her eyes lids to feel increasingly heavy, Penny fell into her dreams, all cantered on a green-eye wizard.

**End of Chapter**

**Note to readers: **Some reviewers have said or implied, I'm homophonic ect... and frankly that's a load of crap. I personally have no issues with Homosexual relationships, I got a friend who is gay and is married to his partner. And both of these guys are some of the nicest people I have ever met. I also work with someone who is homosexual, and have no issue with them either.

So sorry if you dislike the story due to Harry's reaction, but this story is set in early 1990's when people were far **less open and supporting** of Homosexuals. My Harry is also a **Darwinist**, a firm believer in **science, maths** . At no ponit in this story have I said anything extreme, or insulting, nor has any of my characters... all of which conforms to the site rules.

**If you don't like, don't read, I'm not forcing you to.**


	9. Y1 The Great Hall

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safety, and mature themes **

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord **

**Chapter 9: The Great Hall**

**Reposted 1st April 2013**

**Revised and Beta by Joe Lawyer**

Looking around the Great Hall as everyone discussed the results of the first Quidditch match of the season, Harry watched Gryffindor house loudly celebrating their victory over their Slytherin rivals, with Professor McGonagall in the background sporting a smug, cat-like grin. It had been exciting to watch and extremely fast paced, just like Padma had promised, even if he didn't fully understand all the rules yet... there were like 300 rules and another 1000 sub clauses... Luckily, he had Padma next to him explaining the rules as the game went on, with Penny adding and pointing out bits and pieces of interest.

Naturally they had ended up supporting the Gryffindor team over their Slytherin rivals, simply due to the fact that they preferred the fair game the lions usually played, over the questionable tactics the Slytherins often resorted to to win. Tactics like intentionally ignoring the rules and more often than not bullying their way to victory.

And frankly, no one likes cheaters, especially when individuals can get seriously hurt as a result. Personally, he had no issue with cheating under the right conditions and circumstances, but it seemed rather pointless to cheat when playing a simple school game, when you willingly enter an amateur competition to prove yourself against others...

However, Slytherin players didn't really see it that way, resulting in Katie Bell, one of the Gryffindor chasers, getting knocked out within the first 10 minutes of the game from a questionable move committed by the Slytherin team captain.

Fortunately for Gryffindor, Longbottom ended up stealing the game for the team with a daring move, leaping from his broom to catch the snitch before the Slytherin team could take advantage of having an extra player advantage. Frankly, he considered it stupid and rather reckless jumping from one's broom just to win a school Quidditch game... but then again he was a Raven.

It had still been a close run thing, even with Neville's broom playing up halfway through the match, by trying to throw its rider off.

The current running theory to explain this, if you believed the rumours that is, was that Neville had seen the snitch early on in the game. But before he could give chase, the head of Slytherin house, Professor Snape, Hogwarts' resident potion master cursed his broom in an attempt to eliminate the Gryffindor seeker, to ensure his own team's victory. Personally, he found the whole idea dim-witted and very unlikely with the resident potions master being surrounded by other members of the staff, including the headmaster himself.

The man may love taking house points over the smallest and most dubious of things, especially from the Gryffindors, but no way would the head of Slytherin house attempt to do something so reckless with such real consequences should he be caught.

More than likely it was one of the older students, either a jealous Gryffindor who lost the chance to play seeker due to Neville's recruitment, or some Slytherin student, tempted to remove Longbottom from the game. After all, the Gryffindor house had no open tryouts for the seeker position this year, thanks to Neville stealing the slot after Wood saw him playing on one of the Weasley twins' brooms. How could the Gryffindor captain refuse the Boy-Who-Lived when he had the terrible two backing him? No one wants trouble with the twins. If the rumour mill was correct, Neville had been playing Quidditch with the Weasleys for years before coming to Hogwarts.

Either way, he was sure this had made the boy some additional enemies; what were the odds of Wood just happening to come down to the pitch, just to see the boy training with the twins? Clearly it was a set-up. This added to the fact that Neville was clearly the favourite of the Deputy Headmistress, and had somehow managed to get around the rule about first-years not being allowed to bring brooms.

Just proves that favourites get away with far more than others, especially celebrities, which just reinforced his desire to become a favourite amongst the staff.

Thinking over the game, he couldn't decide whether it was skill or luck, since it was the first game he had ever seen; only time would tell if Longbottom was truly a skilled seeker. However, it didn't stop the lions from celebrating their victory; not even their own head of house sending them those potent warning looks of hers could calm them for long.

Leading up to the match, Percy had attempted to pull Penny into the Gryffindor ranks, as well as give her his Gryffindor scarf, which frankly wasn't a very discreet attempt at marking his territory by any standards. He might as well have put a massive sign above Penny's head, with big capital red letters saying, 'Taken by Percy' just like you would when marking a piece of food in the refrigerator for later.

However, things didn't go the way the lion obviously intended, after Harry discreetly and silently cast a tripping hex at Percy as he tried to pull Penny away from them, while ignoring Harry and Padma entirely.

The hex had flown straight and true, causing the prefect to lose his balance and stumble on some conveniently loose gravel. Unfortunately, in the process he desperately grabbed hold of Penny while attempting to stay upright, dragging their friend down with him.

Acting quickly to take advantage of the situation he had surreptitiously created, he rushed over to help Penny back to her feet like a true friend would, "Percy get your hand off my ass right now!" a ferocious Penny shouted, attracting several other students' attention, clearly not liking the idea of Percy feeling her up, whether on purpose or by accident. Which was rather hard to tell since they had fallen rather oddly, as Percy seem to freeze up, just like a deer does when blinded by the headlights of a fast moving car.

Helping his friend back to her feet as she unwrapped herself from Percy's frozen embrace, getting a series of giggle and chuckles from the growing group of onlookers, he cast a quite vocal cleaning charm on her, rather than reveal the fact that he could cast the spell silently, and risk revealing his own involvements. The charm efficiently removed the dust and dirt from her jeans and sweater, catching her by surprise at the expert use of a second-year charm.

It was easy to act concerned, because he really was, to a point. After all, his target had been Percy, not Penny, but that didn't mean he wouldn't use this situation to his benefit.

Examining him for a couple seconds before her curiosity got the better of her, "When did you learn that?" Penny asked, as Padma looked on with equal interest, clearly wanting to hear the answer as well.

Offering a friendly hand to Percy, he answered Penny's question, "Well, most second-year charms only need a bit more power than first-year charms, the main difference is the focus and intent behind it," He started in explanation, wondering if Percy would be smart enough to take the offered hand. "So when I was looking over the charms and studying ahead, I thought it would make the most sense to learn charms that would be of the most use in day-to-day life," he explained, as Percy slapped his hand away in anger and embarrassment.

That simple action reminded Penny of her earlier anger at her fellow prefect, "Percy that was awfully rude! Where are you manners? You're meant to be a prefect, setting an example to all these students," she lectured, as Percy seemed to be growing increasingly red faced which wasn't uncommon to see on his brother Ron's.

Watching the unfolding drama with hidden amusement, she gave her fellow prefect a rather brutal talking to in front of the audience of students, who were clearly enjoying watching the annoying Gryffindor prefect finally being on the receiving end of the lecture for a change, rather than the one giving it.

After all, he deserved it; since the beginning of term, Percy had been throwing his weight around with his prefect status, making himself rather unpopular amongst the student body and becoming a bit of a bully in the process.

Looking over his shoulder to check on his other friend, he saw Padma making the effort to slip unnoticed into the audience of onlookers, rather than being in the lime light of the 'stage,' as it were.

Deciding that it would be best to move on before Percy demonstrated the famous Weasley temperament, after remembering the incident in the hospital wing, he spoke. "Penny, it's fine," taking the high road, as he slipped his arm around her, pulling her away from the older red faced male.

"He should apologize to you Harry," Penny argued heatedly while looking over her shoulder and sending the Gryffindor an angry scowl. Her words echoing back to the audience and the red faced lion.

Fighting to keep the smirk off his face, knowing full well he was winning the private battle between the two of them over the Ravenclaw prefect's friendship.

As they walked down to the pitch, he noticed that Penny made no effort to break the hold he had on her and had instead been moving closer to him, rather than pulling away, as Padma finally caught up with the both of them.

In hindsight, it had started since leaving the hospital wing and his recounting of the fight against the mountain troll. It started mainly with spending more time around him, and her increased willingness to assist him with his studies and errands, rather than her own.

She even went out during one of the Hogsmeade weekends and did some shopping for him, picking up some potions supplies for his current brewing projects, and some chocolate frogs.

Of course, he had paid for it, but it had been unexpected since the only person who had ever done anything for him had been Bloodmoon, and that was because it was in the goblin's best interest to help...plus he was being paid to. After all, his relatives had never helped him out, and they were his family, however loosely he used that term.

Then the physical distance between them had also decreased, Penny often sitting as close as physically possible to him, almost sitting on his lap a couple of times without realizing it. It was bit disconcerting actually, it seemed a bit rapid for the natural progression of a friendship.

Even though he could sense no ill will from Penny and her increased desire to be close to him, it was still unsettling. He was just unused to it, but he expected he would get used to it in time, like how he managed to bond with Padma over her fears of losing her sister and being alone. Coming out of his memories he turned his attention back to the Great Hall.

Deciding to get some peace and quiet, he silently glided his way out of the Great Hall, and started heading towards one of the quieter sections of the school, hopefully where he could find an abandoned classroom to practise his magic.

Walking along one of corridors leading away from the great hall, he noticed Hermione was accompanying her two saviours to the feast, talking amongst themselves. They didn't notice him since they were so caught up in their discussion, to the point where he had to sidestep the trio to avoid being steam rolled by them.

Resisting the urge to aggressively tell them, 'watch where you are going,' and privately hoping they walked straight into the potion master himself, he overheard a part of their discussion.

"It was Professor Snape, I'm telling you, his lips were moving, plus he wasn't breaking eye contact," Hermione argued to Ron and Neville, as the trio headed in the direction of the Great Hall.

Once again he had to resist the urge to butt in, and point out that it could have been a simple counter curse, and that the potion's master was sitting with the rest of the staff. But it really wasn't his problem if someone was trying to harm Longbottom. He was no hero and he certainly wasn't responsible for Neville's safety.

He looked out for himself first and foremost, getting involved would just mean needless trouble. That was something he wanted to avoid as much as possible; getting caught up in Neville's drama would just cause him problems in the end. However, it was good that the girl finally had someone to talk to, he wasn't totally heartless, it truly sucked not having friends. But he wondered how long it would last before it snapped, he gave it another 2 weeks, a month max, before the red headed fool said something stupid and hurtful enough to drive her off.

"It was Snape, I'm sure of it," Neville stated with certainly and a good amount of spite, ending the debate as his voice echoed down the corridor.

At the mention of Professor Snape once again, he was reminded of his need to find some time to practise his potion making skills, as well as needing to dust off his codex, and remove the mental 'junk' that had accumulated.

**Midnight Gold**

Smiling, he looked down at the cooling mixture with a clear sense of pride. It had taken several failed attempts to successfully brew the Draught of Living Death, but he had done it at last! It appeared just like the textbook had described, the potion itself was like water in consistency, but was greyish black in color, almost like tainted silver.

Of course the only way he could truly know if it worked was to test it on something living. He could test it on a plant, but that would give unclear results, since the potion was not designed with the intention of being used on plant life. After all, it was meant to put individuals and animals into a death-like coma, not plant life, and was widely believe to be the poison Shakespeare described in Romeo and Juliet.

He bottled the potion in an unbreakable vial he had charmed earlier that day, before slowly making his way over to the window, his mind deep in thought as he looked over the grounds, mentally debating just how he could test this potentially lethal potion.

Throwing and catching the charmed vial in the air, he thought over the problem, thinking through several possible scenarios of testing the potion. It had to be on an animal of some sort, there was no other way to test it effectively, since he wasn't stupid enough to test it on himself or another person. 'Maybe a rat? Or a mouse?' He thought, since both animals would go unnoticed from around the school, and could be found around the grounds or in the forest itself.

After all, he had to be careful not to test it on someone's pet by mistake, and it wouldn't do to test it on an owl, since they held a special place amongst magicals. Frankly, he couldn't test it on any animal within Hogwarts' walls, just in case it was a familiar of a witch or wizard, that would undoubtedly just cause trouble and attention. However, he was half tempted to test it on Ron's pet rat anyways, after all, the fool had been nothing but an annoyance, and a headache, and there were plenty of cats around that could possibly take the blame if need be.

In truth, he couldn't think of any positive thing about the boy, but then again, he didn't really know him, nor cared to for that matter.

Nevertheless, the Sorting Hat had to see something 'noble' in him, to sort him into Gryffindor. He had also heard that the rat had originally been Percy's pet as well, prior to being given to Ron sometime after joining Hogwarts... So the rat had to be pretty old anyways, since most rats had a life cycle of around 3 years only, and it would be nearing the end of its natural life anyways, giving him another reason why he could test the potion on the rat, if everything Lavender said was true.

Frankly, it was amazing what Hogwarts students talk about, and was one reason why he put up with Lavender sitting with him, since she proved to be an invaluable source of information when it came to getting bits of knowledge about students, even if she was insufferable most of the time.

Truthfully, it was a fair price to pay for getting the low down on an individual, plus it meant Parvati sat with Padma more often. Once again he confirmed his first day impression about Lavender, reinforcing the need to stay on her good side rather than run afoul of Hogwarts' rumour mill, or at least stay neutral in that regard.

Turning his attention back to the problem, he started thinking over the downsides of testing it on the rat. First, he would have to break into their dorm rooms and locate the rat without being noticed. However, even before doing that, he would need to find out the password to the Gryffindor common rooms, which he doubted would be easy to acquire. Unless he slipped on his invisibility cloak and stood outside the door for a while, waiting to overhear the password from someone entering. All in all it was easier said than done, and there was no certainty that the rat would even be there.

So, reluctantly, he dismissed the idea; the Weasleys so far had been nothing but an annoyance, so no point in testing something that could possibly kill out of spitefulness. That would be irresponsible, and after all, how long until he started losing his morals and started to cross that line between light and dark?

He knew he wasn't ever going to be a strictly light wizard, he had far too much anger and hate in him due to the years at his relatives. Who wouldn't hate such people after suffering grievously for a decade? Almost dying due to their abuse and losing his childhood? The best he could ever be would be light grey, but more than likely he would be grey... he kind of liked power in all its forms.

Probably end up just being grey at best, he mentally admitted to himself only in the privacy of mind.

Then of course there were the twins to consider, who were well known pranksters that could very well decide that he would be a prime target if his involvement was ever found out. Truthfully, he'd rather not spend the next 5 years being a target for their considerably creative pranks... it would be majorly counterproductive to his plans to have to watch his step every moment of the day.

So far he'd been lucky to avoid their pranks, due mostly to his study habits and the twin's own reluctance to set pranks in the library and suffer the librarian's wrath for disturbing the sacred silence and endangering her cherished tomes. Plus, if they did destroy something they could easily be expelled from the school. They were brave, but not stupid... they wouldn't risk destroying priceless tomes dating back to the founders just for some laughs.

Then there was the chance of the professors finding out and ruining his plan, therefore he dismissed the idea immediately. The risks were simply too great to test it on the rat. And he couldn't go to Professor Snape for an accurate evaluation either, since it was becoming increasingly clear that the Potion master's rather biased nature against him specifically would prevent it. Of course, it once again would raise questions about his skills and his magical prowess if he made a Newt level potion as a first-year.

He really didn't understand why potion brewing was considered so hard, it was just like cooking really, especially when you were just following instructions, perfected over the decades for easiest usage, aimed at a student body of mixed skill levels. Sure the first couple of attempts at brewing the Draught of Living death had ended badly, causing him to immediately dump the potion down the sink in the connecting room before it exploded in his face. But he learnt from his mistakes, progressing further with each failed attempt at brewing the NEWT level potion.

The only really skill he saw in potion making was when you had to either make a custom made one from scratch, or make an antidote to counter an unknown poison.

Thinking over the problem, he could always owl it away to an independent potions master or mistress for evaluation, but once again ran the risk of owls being monitored; he wouldn't put it past the headmaster to monitor incoming and outgoing mail, just to help cut down on prohibited items entering the school.

He just couldn't see an easy solution to his problem, as he weighed up the pros and cons again of each scheme, before deciding to rest on it, and think it over the next couple of days. Hopefully an answer would present itself.

Bottling the rest of the potion, he gained an additional ten vials from the cauldron since he doubted a single man-sized dose would drop a Cerberus. If anything, it would take several vials since the magical dog was maybe 4 times the average wizard's weight, and would have its own natural magical resistance to overcome.

Making the effort to correctly label the vials with the name of its contents, as well as a date for when it was brewed, he put them away in his trunk in the potion section with the rest of the first-year potions he had brewed in class.

The main reason for dating potions was rather simple; many potions either degraded or intensified in potency over time, such as the Draught of Living Death as the potion's book pointed out, to the point that it became fatal after a year and a half, unless you cast a stasis charm on it. It was standard practice for the safety of everyone involved, to date any potions brewed for later use. He then got to the task of cleaning up the mess he made.

It had been a long, tiring day, but it would be worth it if he was successful. Going over his mental checklist he ticked off each homework assignment he'd completed, finding he had completed everything, but made the note to look back over the potion's assignment, just in case he'd missed anything.

Fortunately it wasn't due for a couple of days, so he could spend the rest of the evening relaxing, before the start of the new school week.

**Midnight Gold**

Enjoying the rich taste of the rare bloodwine as it flowed over his tongue, he privately celebrated the events of the most recent board meeting that had just ended less than half an hour ago. It was all thanks to the new drive and energy behind the Potter and Peverell accounts, and his own successful working alliance of sorts with the young Lord Peverell.

It was odd, considering the young boy as a Lord, and as Lord Peverell for that matter, but it was his current status and position... even if rightfully he should have been Lord Potter first and foremost, rather than Lord Peverell.

So far the boy was living up to his name.

The board meeting had been the same as always, discussing trade and other economical factors and policies. As well as discussing the wizards' politics and how it was expected to affect the upcoming business quarter and their continued policy of neutrality between wizard factions. It was the same old discussions and debates, as it had been for the last decade.

Their world was slow to change compared to the non-magical one, but they understood why they needed to stay hidden from the muggles, they would simply be wiped out by them, as much as they hated to admit it, even if the wizards themselves refused to acknowledge that little fact while believing themselves superior. History had clearly shown that muggles were more than capable of finding means to overcome magic; if they could do it once, they could do so again... And there was _no profit_ in extinction. If that worst case scenario came to pass Wizards could at least blend in, they couldn't...

They would have to wait until they wiped themselves out... before they had any chance of winning that war, so they focused their energies on the magical world instead. The only time wizard politics got remotely interesting to them was when a war broke out between the wand-wavers, almost always accompanied by an attempt to court the goblins by both sides, which always made the senior managers chuckle.

Did they truly think the goblins would forget all the slights and insults the wizards had made for centuries against their race?

The only thing of any real significance to them was the preparation talks for the upcoming war against the dwarven clans of Europe, particularly those of France and the low lands. Due to negotiations having failed to make a break through, now axes and swords were being sharpened, and armour forged. This captured their attention to the point that not even one of their vaults being broken into was anything of consequence to them right now, nothing had been stolen after all, since the vault was empty.

It wasn't even one of their high-security vaults in the first place, just a standard run of mill vault, of a type that everyday witches and wizards used for daily expenses with no dragons, no special protections, nothing.

And the thief had only managed to get into one of their vaults in the first place by corrupting one of their curse-breakers, who was later found dead during the investigation. All evidence suggested the man was under the control of the Imperius Curse, causing their security to be upgraded and more armed guards moved into the bank, which would have been the case anyway since they were now preparing for war.

Taking another sip of his blood wine, he mentally noted that the Chief Warlock had quickly buried the story anyways, clearly not wanting the knowledge that it had been one of his vaults that had been robbed known to the public, and causing people to question what had been there in the first place. He didn't even know what was housed in the vault, only the Bank manager knew the details and he wasn't saying anything, giving the impression that he didn't even know for sure what was being store within their walls.

Not that it was their job to care about such things; they were just responsible for keeping everything safe under the treaty, not asking their clients questions.

The story being surpressed had allowed a quick cover story to be created, and made to look as if the whole ordeal was a controlled break-in designed to test the security of the bank and to ensure it was secure as required by treaty.

Everyone who knew the truth had been bought off by the bank to ensure the truth behind the events stayed hidden and buried behind their doors, even if there were rumours.

Whatever it was the thief was after, it was no longer their concern anymore, and they were no longer responsible for it.

The upcoming war was going be short and brutal and he was looking forward to it, since it had been far too long since the Goblins and Dwarfs had last met in battle, officially at least. Truthfully they often ran into each when on expeditions worldwide, both races competing over the same resources and treasures.

It had been over 300 years since their last official battle, when the last of the great Dwarven underground strongholds were finally destroyed within the British Isles. Then Ireland's own strongholds collapsed over the next hundred years, until they were finally driven out and exterminated.

Of course, there had been minor raids over the centuries; he had even led a few during his youth. And then there were the other Goblin clans outside Britain fighting with the dwarfs on and off over the centuries, but it had been close to 200 years since _their_ clans had a full out war. It was funny in many ways, most of the magical world thought that the Ra'g-Nor'-Oe'ka clan had gone soft guarding wizard treasure, that may be true to some, but another interpretation was that they had spent time securing their positions, gathering their strength, and all that time their numbers swelling.

Then there had been their own internal wars, which had been becoming more brutal as their numbers continued to grow too large; they were effectively getting boxed in their underground caverns.

And the failed negotiations with the dwarves offered just what they needed, a glorious war, a means to expand outwards, to gain resources and mountain ranges to build new underground strongholds. After all, if things kept progressing as they were, in the next twenty years civil war would break out between the clans all over the island and Ireland, as each tribe tried to eliminate the other to secure room for themselves.

They had originally planned to start a war with the Goblin clans in Norway, in retaliation for a number of raids, secure in the knowledge that the wizards of Europe wouldn't interfere if it was a purely goblin conflict... and the Statute of Secrecy wasn't breeched. But why fight their own kind when they had an age-old enemy they could fight? Those other enemies could wait until the dwarves were slaughtered.

The lowlands were rather unsuitable for the creation of underground cities, due to the low lying land, and the continuous need to battle against water flooding their cities; this made settlement there impractical and overly costly. However, it did have several advantages and would serve as a warm up of sorts, allowing them to test their warriors in combat. First the Silversphere Dwarves were a rather small collective group of clans, meaning the war could be won in a matter of days before other clans could come to their aid, assuming everything went well. A quick victory would also prevent the wizards from interfering in the whole affair as long as they weren't outright attacked.

It also offered them a jumping point onto the mainland for later, either to expand into France or to go north. In addition, attacking the small Kingdom of Silversphere Dwarves put them in control of a trading hub, increasing their wealth, their power and their influence throughout the region.

It would also give them the means to gain increased access to the French magical economy, which was currently going through a period of growth and expansion, and they wanted a share of that too. This had been denied to them, by both the wizards and dwarves of France.

If everything went as planned, they would gain a better position to discuss a new trade treaty more favourable to the goblin state than it currently was.

No solid plans were made in case the war turned against them though. After all, they hadn't lost a war in over a thousand years, despite what the wizards said and believed amongst themselves. Of course, there were the inevitable factional debates on how to undertake the war, which of the 47 clans would take part, how to achieve maximum profits, which clans would run the new branches, etc... A Goblin war was all about profit, gold and gems, and, of course, the chance to test one's skills and mettle with the axe.

They weren't wizards or muggles who went to war over morals and beliefs; their wars were simply about money and power, right and wrong didn't matter to them, just gold.

Looking over at his old battleaxe hanging proudly on the wall, it had been far too long since he had a chance to take his axe to something in proper battle. He didn't count using it on a stupid wizard or witch, there was no test of strength in that, and that had been over a decade ago anyways. He could still fondly remember personally putting their heads on spikes and placing them outside the bank to the shock of the present customers, resulting in a toothy smile, reminding everyone that they were goblins and the bank was _their_ dominion.

Reaching over to the silver jug on his desk and refilling his silver goblet with bloodwine, his thoughts turned back to the earlier meeting.

Naturally, some of the factions had suggested that their efforts would be better directed at the Ministry of Magic, since magical Britain was currently so weak and exposed after the civil war with Voldemort. However, that idea was quickly dismissed by their king, Ragnok, leader of the clans. This was due to a number of reasons; first, they were already in control of the magical economy and had little to gain compared to attacking the dwarves. It ran the risk of uniting the magicals of Britain under a common banner. It also risked the rest of Europe's magicals getting involved and most likely the dwarves taking a chance to strike at them as well in the chaos. However, if they went to war with the dwarves, then it was unlikely the wizards would get involved, simply due to it being the standard policy of the wizards to let them battle it out with each other, since it kept both parties from getting involved in 'wizard affairs'.

Even should this long-held policy be ignored, all they would have to do is bribe the right wizards and witches in government to prevent the wizards from directly getting involved too quickly, or at least delaying them until it had been already decided in one party's favour.

Of course, both sides would employ and recruit wizards to boost their ranks, since neither race could actively cast magic; one of the many reasons why they first started training their own curse-breakers. Besides getting a monopoly on warding services within Britain, smiling at the thought of how easy they had taken over the industry 300 years ago, they now controlled a powerful area of magic.

The war also came down to internal politics, many of the goblin clans were getting restless from too many years of peace, and needed a means to vent and direct their violent nature. Simply put, they needed to kill something before they started killing each other and the situation deteriorated into their own civil war like England had experienced decades earlier.

Clans would also be able to re-confirm their place in the goblin hierarchy, and prove that they deserved their position...or die, if they had grown weak. This also gave newer factions a chance to rise to prominence, ensuring their race stayed strong and the weak were culled. Simply put far better to make someone else bleed, than kill each other. However, this provided him with a chance to make profit, since he was one of 3 managers assigned to purchase metal materials that would be needed for their forges, by using the Potter and Peverell accounts as middle men.

It would also keep the Ministry of Magic from noticing if he was able to buy the necessary goods under several accounts. Of course, both accounts would profit from the arrangement and he, in turn, would gain a cut from both transactions. Ultimately they would all gain, except the dwarves of course, causing another sinister smile to form, his yellow teeth stained red from the effects of the blood wine, as his thoughts turned toward the idea of glorious battle.

And he may very well get his promotion, finally! He downed some more of the potent blood wine, already looking forward to moving back up to his previous status within the bank, before Lord and Lady Potter's death. And it would also help ensure his faction stayed in control in the coming years; so much to gain, so little risk.

Of course, it would be years before they would be ready, but the thought of having his axe in hand and his dozen sons fighting by his side made him feel all warm inside, now he just had to look up a mining company or two. There was gold to be made and weapons to forge, it was truly a good day to be a Goblin.

There was a short knock at the door before a young wizard entered, not even waiting for permission to be given; he ignored this since he was in such a good mood, "Senior Account Manager Bloodmoon, Senior Account Manager Quickquill, requests your presence."

"I'll be there in a moment," he answered, "Next time knock, otherwise you find yourself demoted!" dismissing the wizard, rather annoyed at being summoned.

"Yes, Sir!" the wizard rapidly replied, only then realizing his mistake.

**Midnight Gold**

Taking a lemon drop out of the charmed silver bowl resting on his desk, he was careful to avoid the ones laced with a calming draught and a weak dose of truth serum, since they were intended for the students brought to his office... as well as any politicians that had a sweet tooth.

Some people would question the ethics of drugging the offered sweets, but their primary purpose was to help relax panicking students that had been brought to his office. And ultimately help him get to the root of the issue faster, after all, he was important man and couldn't afford to waste his time, which could be better spent elsewhere.

After all, he had to manage three different full-time positions, as well keep the Ministry running effectively behind the scenes. Of course, his various assistants managed most of the day-to-day paperwork, allowing him to focus on the bigger issues, and they made such excellent scapegoats if a policy backfired.

Of course, there was an even faster way to get to the bottom of the problem. He could simply use his skills in Legilimency to solve the issue, but first that was illegal and could lead to more problems in the future. And on a more personal note, he'd rather avoid looking into his students' minds at all; even his master-level legilimency would not allow only getting the specific information he sought after, a student's mind was disorganised, unfocused, and chaotic at the very best of times, driven entirely too much by hormones for his liking. He almost always got various rumours, daydreams and fancies the students had as well. How many fancies had he seen of Professor Vector since he'd hired her? He shook his head at the number of sexually charged teenage fantasies he'd seen; it wasn't just the boys either!

So now he was waiting for Molly's youngest son to arrive; he was sure the boy would agree to assist him in keeping his friend safe. After all, what more honourable thing could an individual be asked to do than to help protect a friend from themselves, as well as help guide his friend into the future. Besides he was _Albus__Dumbledore_, the next Merlin in the eyes of the magical world, particularly in Britain, how could the boy refuse him? He had worked tirelessly over the years to create that image, that of a wise-old mage.

Truthfully, it was far easier to get people to work with you if they were in awe of your prowess and ability. It was probably one of his best choices he had made in all his years; how many battles had he won simply by his presence, his name, his legend? How many bills had he blocked due to that very legend and personally denouncing it? How many people had willingly bound themselves to his cause? Honestly, he didn't know, there had been so many over the years.

Detecting a faint pulse of magic announcing the boy's arrival, he quickly looked over his shoulder to see his beloved phoenix sitting proudly on his perch, blazing bright in its full elemental glory, as if looking down ready to pass judgement on all who came before it. Fawkes truly looked amazing on days like these, truly grand and imposing. Making sure the whole office was the way he wanted, he straightened his robes, before stating firmly, "Come in Mr Weasley" lacing his words with voice magic.

Watching as the first year boy entered his office, the boy suddenly froze just past the entrance, his jaw dropping in wonder.

He internally chuckled at the familiar sight; with how many times he had seen that particular look of amazement, of awe over the years, it never got old. He decided to go with his kind, grandfather persona for this meeting, since he often visited the boy's mother Molly, one of his most loyal supporters. Molly was a bit extreme in her views, but it was never in doubt that she loved her children dearly, and reminded him a bit of his sister.

He also knew that Ron had most likely inherited his mother's views on light and dark magics, making him an ideal candidate for the task at hand, considering his close friendship with Neville.

He decided to use the boy's shorter name since he knew the boy hated his longer name, as his mother only used it when she was in 'banshee' mode and was punishing the lad; and he didn't want the boy to think of this as a punishment. "Please sit down Ron," he said magnanimously, while gesturing to the cosy seats.

Soon as they were settled down and comfortable he asked kindly, "Lemon drop?" holding the bowl forward, allowing the boy to take a couple.

Smiling kindly, he made eye contact, allowing him to feel the boy's surface emotions as the calming potions took effect. "Now Ron, I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to join me in my office, first let me say that you're not in trouble," raising his hand to emphasize the point and stall any backtalk. "I know it was the twins who pranked Professor Snape," he offered with a kind-hearted smile, before continuing. "However, I have an important task that you are ideally suited for," seeing the boy's chest puff out in importance as he took another lemon drop.

"Now Ron, I'm sure you understand that your friend Neville is often a target for misguided people, who wish him harm, such as bewitching his broom," linking the idea to the recent Quidditch match... "Or want to use him for their own malevolent goals," his tone going low and serious, deciding to play up the danger. "What I need you to do Ron is to keep your friend away from the dark families. After all, it wouldn't do for the Boy-Who-Lived to become a dark wizard, now would it?"

Ron just nodded; a bit speechless as his mind processed the statement. He saw that the child's mind had suspicions that Professor Snape was behind the bewitching of Neville's broom. Making a snap decision, he decided to fail to mention that Professor Snape had been chanting a counter curse under the headmaster's orders. Severus would play the role of the villain, ensuring that Neville would continue in the belief that the potions master was behind the attack for some time, widening the bridge between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins... ensuring the boy didn't interact with his social equals within Slytherin... and continued to stay where he could be moulded and distracted to the Headmaster's liking.

"Neville could never be a dark wizard; he killed You-Know-Who!" Ron finally burst out, as his mind finally caught up with he had said.

He continued to use his grandfatherly tone, but spoke soberly, "Everyone can fall to the darkness Ron, that's why we need to keep Neville firmly in the light," he chided, before deciding to throw in an example, as he saw the image of Draco Malfoy popping into the child's mind. "It wouldn't do for the boy to start hanging around with young Mr. Malfoy; who knows what dark magic he could learn then," seeing the boy's face go red, he felt fear and jealously coming from the lad as he faked a shudder for good measure.

He already knew that Arthur and Molly despised the Malfoy family, and would have spread that belief to their children, but Ron was actually jealous and envious of Draco due to his wealth? 'Interesting,' he mentally noted, before pushing deeper into the boy's mind, searching for the necessary memories to explain it, before pulling out as quickly as he entered.

A mental note was made that he could use that jealousy to always separate Neville from Ron if need be in the future, the boy already growing envious of Neville's fame and wealth...

Continuing on to prevent another outburst, he used his aura to help keep the boy quiet, "All I want you to do, is make sure Neville only makes friends with light-side families, and inform me if he starts wandering away from the light, or starts practicing dangerous magic. This is so I can guide him back, before it's too late" he warned, while shifting his features to a wise and concerned elder.

Watching patiently as the boy nodded in understanding, he decided to add a carrot to ensure the boy would leap to the task, "Of course, you will be rewarded for your efforts, it wouldn't be fair on you to do it for free," seeing the boy's face light up at prospect of an unnamed reward.

"That said, I couldn't give it to you directly, I would have to give it to you through your parents, since you're still not of age, but if you help me out with this task, I will help you out the best I can without making it too obvious. The Quidditch World Cup is in a couple of years time...Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could go with all of your family," planting a hint, whilst the young Gryffindor smiled at the thought of his reward. "Now, I need you to make a quick vow of silence, to ensure that you don't speak of this." He summoned his wand wandlessly to his hand, once again leaving the boy speechless from the display of his magical prowess.

Naturally, he was reluctant to require a magical vow from a child; but it just wouldn't do for the boy to speak about what he'd just been tasked with, as he studiously ignored the silent stares of the previous headmasters and mistresses watching him intensely from their portraits, 'Good thing their magic forces them to obey the current head of the school, otherwise they'd be shouting their heads off,' he mentally admitted. It was all for the greater good, it wouldn't do for another dark lord to rise on his watch, one was bad enough, Magical Britain would never survive two dark lords back-to-back in such a short span of time. He instructed Ronald in the wording of the Vow.

Ron carefully repeated what the Headmaster said; it was a simple vow, but its only goal was to stop the boy from talking about these meetings, it wouldn't do for Neville to find out, simply due to the boy losing his temper or becoming jealous over something pointless and endangering his plans. That was one of the major flaws with Weasleys, their temper; they were awfully hot-headed at times.

"Now I believe that is all, I need to get back to my work, I wish you a good weekend Ron," dismissing the boy.

Watching as the boy took a few more lemon drops before leaving, 'the cheek of the boy taking more of my sweets,' he thought, a little annoyed that he would have to order more of his favourite sweets, while still smiling at the lad, keeping the act up that he had mastered decades ago.

"I won't fail you headmaster," Ron stated confidently.

Mentally patting himself on the back, "I know you won't dear boy," he answered back confidently, as the first year left his office, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Making his way over to the window to look over the school grounds, he spotted Hagrid walking into the forest, as he thought over the meeting.

It had been surprisingly easy to recruit Ron to his side; in years to come the boy would be as loyal as his mother was and an ideal candidate for the Order. The boy may be a bit lazy from what he'd seen, but he hoped it was just a phase that he was going through. After all, most kids these days just wanted to have fun, and it often wasn't until their later teen years that they started to focus on a single goal.

Considering Ron's future role in his plans, he thought of the advantages and disadvantages of recruiting the rest of Neville's friends in the near future to his cause, in order to better protect the boy and to keep him away from undesirables. It would also allow him to surround the boy with a court of followers under his control, allowing him to better influence the boy. Also, considering the fact that another wizard war was brewing in the distance, surrounding the boy with loyal friends and followers would help keep him safe and provide him with support in the future.

Hopefully his plan wouldn't fail and he could capture Tom's spirit this year, giving them longer to prepare, longer for him to train the boy and recruit him as his apprentice.

He may not be personally destined to defeat Tom, but the least he could do was arrange the 'playing cards' in his and Neville's favour. He sighed as dark memories resurfaced from the last war.

Shaking his head, steadfastly trying to forget all the terrors of war he had seen over his long life, he poured himself a cup of strong tea.

Hopefully an all out war could be avoided, but it was his responsibility as Chief Warlock to plan for the worst and hope for the best, simply due to no one else being capable of seeing the bigger picture, no one else being capable of handling the burdens he carried. He continued to sip his herbal tea, its calming effects silencing his unvoiced doubts.

Letting his thoughts drift back to his youth, before he sadly made his way back over to his desk, to see more papers that he had to sign, sighing in despair at the thought of even more paperwork; he really needed another personal assistant or three.

**Midnight Gold**

Making his way back to the Ravenclaw common room, Harry was still lost in his own thoughts whilst thinking over how to get the potion tested. However, his thoughts were interrupted as he saw the 'fool' making his way out of the headmaster's office.

Wondering what the headmaster could have wanted with the boy, obviously it wasn't to tell the boy off, since he boy looked far too happy and upbeat, even a bit hyper for that matter... Shaking his head, it really wasn't his business anyway, deciding to hang back, rather than risk possible unwanted conversation with the boy, who he just wanted to curse anyways for being a continuous annoyance.

Deciding to indulge himself with that particular idea, he carefully took aim, which was made even easier since the boy was walking in a straight line, before he silently sent a shoelace tying jinx at the fool, before quickly taking the text turn in the hallway. Seconds later, he heard cursing, proving his aim to be true. It suddenly dawned on him that he would have to practice his aiming more; after all, his aim had been fine when casting at something as big as a mountain troll, at almost point blank range it was nearly impossible to miss. He would have to practice if he wanted to impress Flitwick enough to get the former champion duellist to train him. He sighed, so many things to do, so little time.

He was half-tempted to try and recruit a 6th year or something, just to help guide and direct his development. He could just aim at self-made targets, even moving ones, with an animation charm or two, but it was not the same, after all, it was predictable and they did not have minds of their own. It's one thing aiming at a target, another aiming at person who was fighting back and could adapt as needed.

He could always ask Penny to help, but he didn't want to involve her; she already had quite enough on her plate with it being her OWL year. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to ask more of her; she had her own future to think about. That was the exact same reason why he dismissed the idea of asking a 7th year as well, since they were handling their NEWTS.

So, ideally, he needed a 6th year, a person skilled enough to teach him, but at the same time act as a target, who he wouldn't have to worry about hurting and who would know most of the OWL material to the necessary skill level.

That certainly limited his options, he doubted he would be able to find a raven to help, since most of Ravenclaw house dropped DADA after OWLs, on the grounds that the teaching was unreliable and it was better to focus on another subject rather than waste time spending extra effort making up for incompetent teachers. Plus, DADA got more physically demanding in the final years and ravens where naturally inclined to be scholars rather than fighters. Who preferred to be debating theories rather than duelling; simply put DADA was primarily taken by lions in the final years, whilst ravens went for more academically challenging subjects like runes and arithmancy.

Thinking over everything he knew, DADA was the principal requirement for anyone who wished to become an Auror or Hit-Wizard like his father, before concluding that it was in his best interests to go and see his head of house. Since charms was another necessary subject required at NEWT level for that profession and career path, the charms master would surely know of a capable student in DADA.

Changing direction he headed towards his head of house's office; hopefully he would know of a student who would be suitable to approach. Of course, he would have to find something to offer in exchange, since he doubted any student would do it for free.

Hopefully, he could offer some money to solve the issue, and effectively buy the additional lessons.

**End of chapter**


	10. Y1 Recruitment, Rings and Debts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M for safety, and mature themes. **

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord **

**Chapter ****10: ****Recruitment**

**Rewritten Edition**

**Reposted 23th April 2013**

**Revised and****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

Following his target was rather easy; she didn't even notice his presence. Professor Flitwick had provided him with a list of students who he believed were suitable for helping him.

Naturally, his head of house had asked why Harry was interested, and he had, in turn, given the professor a few half-truths to explain it. He didn't particularly like lying to his head of house, but he just didn't like sharing his business with others either, especially people he had only just met, or hardly talked to outside of lessons. After all, he had a right to his privacy, but at the same time he didn't want to possibly alienate the professor so early on in his schooling. There were many years of school yet ahead of him.

And 'trust easily given is also easily discarded,' as one ancient philosopher once noted. He would only trust those who had earned it; he wouldn't make the same mistake others had by blindly trusting others.

Submerging into his codex, he pulled up the memory of the discussion, looking for anything that he may have missed or done wrong.

Entering his head of house's office, he saw his head of house was waiting for him to sit down. After the usual exchange of pleasantries about one's health, they got to the matter at hand. "Harry, what can I do for you today; surely you have better things to do than talk to little old me" Professor Flitwick asked cheekily, with a smile, looking at his student with curiosity.

Chuckling in response to his joke, he answered similarly with a light smile, "Well, I was wondering if you knew of any students that could possibly help me train in the practical side of DADA," he raised his hand to stop his head of house from interrupting him, already guessing what the next question would be. "First, Penny is and has been extremely helpful, and could no doubt help me with this as well, but I believe it would be unfair to her. She has her own duties, as well her OWLs to study for; it would be selfish of me to take up any more of her time," he answered, seeing Flitwick nod in understanding before continuing on.

"That is also the reason why I discounted 5th and 7th years; I could ask 4th years, but they themselves have yet to master the OWL material, coupled with the recent history of poor DADA professors, I thought it would be best to seek out an individual who's taking DADA due to passion and career interest. After all, these students would naturally spend significant additional time studying for it, to make up for the lack of adequate teaching in the subject. Then I remember from some of my readings that a strong proficiency in Charms is needed for any Auror candidate, hence the reason why I came to you," gesturing to his head of house.

Flitwick just nodded before sipping some tea; he looked at him again, seeming to be weighing him up, before speaking again, his voice laced with interest. "Indeed, very logical reasoning, something that I would expect from all my Ravenclaws. However, I'm most interested in finding out what your motivation is," the half-goblin asked with a surprising amount of seriousness.

Deciding to take his own slow sip of tea to buy himself some time to come up with an acceptable response, he answered, "I was rehashing the fight with the troll in my mind; I realized that I never really had to _aim_. Since it was so big, and almost at point-blank range the entire time, it was near impossible to miss. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was more lucky than skilled. Frankly, I'd rather rely on skill, than luck," looking over the desk, he saw Flitwick nod in understanding.

He took another sip of his tea, "Luck can come and go, but skill remains; the more skilled you are, the less 'luck' you might need to come out on top," he admitted sagely, hoping it would help persuade his head of house to help him.

"Good to know that the events of Halloween didn't go to your head, unlike some students," Flitwick replied in an equally sagely tone, clearly referring to Neville and Ron, whose egos seemed to have gotten even bigger, which made them even more unbearable to be around. However it did have the benefit of keeping Draco and his goons focused on Neville, rather than everyone else. They spent several minutes in comfortable silence before continuing, Flitwick obviously thinking about students who could be of help. "I can think of several individuals who could help you improve; I'll shortly send you a list with a couple of names," he replied.

"Thank you, hopefully one of them will agree to help me," Harry replied.

"Now off with you, I need to get back to my marking," with that his head of house dismissed him.

"Thank you again for your time Professor, and thanks for the tea," Harry responded with a sincere smile.

Pulling out of the short memory, he continued to shadow one student his head of house had recommended. He was currently following them under his father's cloak. Flitwick had given him five names; however two of them were from Slytherin so he discarded them immediately, due to the fact that he was distrustful of them. Mainly because they would most certainly try to take advantage of him, mostly due to his age, and a number other factors, plus he didn't know where they stood on the whole blood status issue.

He knew there were exceptions to the rule in Slytherin, such as Daphne and Tracy, but they were few and far between. It had taken ages for them to move away from just being associates working together for mutual gain in their classes, to being friends of a sort.

The lions were discounted as well, simply due his doubting that they would take it seriously enough. And would probably just use it as a chance to hex him and joke about it later in the common room. So that left the last candidate on the list, a puff, by the name of Tonks. However, he already had some doubts after seeing how clumsy the girl was over the course of the week following her, since the meeting with his head of house last Sunday evening.

But she also had a number of factors in her favour, first, was that Puffs were well known for honouring their deals, and second, from his observations, the girl seemed to be reasonable. Then there was the fact that she was already doing her own hard training outside of class, so there was chance he would be able to strike up a deal to co-train with her.

After a while of following her, they reached and entered a disused classroom; the girl then going about setting up several 'targets' by transfiguring random objects in the room into targets; these reminding him of the typical targets at an archery range, with a gold bull's-eye in the centre, before the mentioned targets started moving randomly, likely via animation charms.

Watching her dance around and dodge imaginary spells, it felt like she was preparing for war, with the way she was simultaneously firing off spells and hitting the targets with a surprising amount of accuracy. Every time one of the targets was destroyed, it would be repaired by magic, and continued its intended task.

Harry continued to watch the heavily concentrating girl for a further five minutes, who was now panting heavily and sweating up a storm from dodging and rolling away from imaginary spells, while countering with her own spells. If he was honest, he would definitely say that he was impressed, never before had he seen someone taking their studies to this level before, it was worthy of a Ravenclaw.

Finally, the animation charms on her targets ran out and they fell to the floor, closely followed by the girl who fell on her back and looked up at the ceiling while panting hard and trying to regain her breath. He waited a few moments before making his presence known, appearing from thin air behind the girl before he spoke, "That was impressive." This statement caused the girl to jump up and turn around quickly, levelling her wand at the now visible Harry.

"Who in the hell are you, and how did you get in here?!" the girl yelled, her hair changing towards a crimson red colour, whilst keeping her wand levelled at him, rock steady despite her obvious fatigue.

Looking around the room a bit before answering "Does it matter? If I intended to harm you, do you think I would have taken the time to talk to you?" he shot back before continuing, "After all, you were so intently practising, that at any point I could have cursed you in the back. Besides if this how you treat someone with a business offer then I may have to find someone else," before starting to make his way over to the door.

"Wait!" Tonks yelled out, lowering her wand. "What is it you want to discuss?"

"Simple, I am in need of a partner to practise practical DADA with, since the teaching quality here is so low," replying to the question in a factual tone. "I'm sure you'd agree with me that the teaching standard has dropped in the subject over the years, surely you have noticed the same during your own time here," shooting the question back in turn.

"How does that involve me then?" she replied, her hair changing to a more pinkish shade.

"Simply put, you were the most suitable choice for additional instruction, as I know you desire to work in law enforcement after graduation," Harry replied, surprising her with his knowledge, whilst picking up one of the fallen chairs and moving it behind one of the desks, before making himself comfortable. "I can help you with that," he finally added. "From what I know, a lot of positions in the ministry are based on contacts, rather than personal skill. And I also know that if you want the best equipment for some of the more high-risk positions, and therefore the best _chance_ to see old age in one piece, you have to buy it _yourself_," he looked intently over at the young woman, while sitting down at the desk, before gesturing to the fallen chair opposite him, his intent clear.

She made no move to join him, yet he continued on, "The standard dragon-hide combat vest costs around two thousand galleons. With all the supporting gear on top of that, you're looking at the same again, just for the standard gear alone. Do you know how much you earn per year as an auror?" He asked.

"No, I don't," she admitted. "But you tell me, you're the Ravenclaw out of the two of us," Tonks replied in an annoyed tone, now moving towards the offered chair and putting her wand away.

'Good, I got her attention; luckily I read up on magical law enforcement' he thought, before continuing his speech, as soon as he saw that she was comfortable. "For your first two years of training, you're looking at around two thousand galleons per year. After you complete your basic training and become an auror, you're looking at around six and half thousand a year. You won't reach nine thousand galleons a year until you're a grade 3 auror, and that's typically only after six to eight years of frontline work coupled with your two training years. So all told you won't be there until you're around 26, at the earliest, unless something major happens to get you promoted faster than normal. Of course, you will have to compete against your male counterparts for any position, who will be favoured over you," he said disapprovingly.

Seeing the look of concentration on her face, he could tell she was thinking through everything he said carefully. Several minutes passed before he gave a slight cough, drawing her attention back to him, "During all this you are obviously going to have to pay rent, buy food, and other essentials to get by; there's a good chance that you will fall in love, have a wedding, and nine months later you have a kid, this forcing you to put your career on hold, effectively resetting your progress on the career pay ladder to the bottom. That's if you're still able to have kids by this point," he said sadly, giving her a sober look.

"What do you mean 'still able to have kids?'" her voice higher, a mix of anger and genuine concern.

"I meant no offense," he said, holding up his hands in a surrender gesture, "But one powerful dark curse to the stomach, maybe two, will effectively kill your womb, and end your ability to have children due to irreversible curse damage," he responded, watching 'Tonks' rub her stomach in response before continuing, "I know this because one of my mother's friends, who happened to be a auror during the last war, got hit with a dark cutting curse, losing her unborn child and the ability to have another child in the future," he said soberly, pausing bit, waiting for any response. None were forthcoming, he noted, before deciding to continue on.

"The equipment the ministry provides it aurors is basic at the best of times, and is primarily designed to be worn by male wizards anyways, hence the low protection for such areas as the womb, since men obviously don't have them. Therefore most female law enforcement officers often get desk jobs or appointed to support roles, which pays even less, about half what a frontline auror earns," taking a breath, seeing he still had her attention.

"Even then, most of the gear provided is just standard enchanted leather, and meant to withstand standard spells the average magical would use, rather than the ones dark wizards would cast. Simply put, against an opponent who has even basic knowledge of the dark arts, your armor would act like butter to a hot knife, totally useless to you, ill-suited for a female body, and after one good spell you're in the grave," he ended his lecture, at the moment very grateful for his father's journal and his insight on the dangers for aurors, whilst waiting for Tonks to say something.

"Ok, so how do _you _come into this", she said looking across the table with interest and leaning forward, looking into his eyes. In return he gave her a slight smile, leaning close as well, not breaking eye contact in their staring contest and finding that he loved the warm brown colour of her eyes...

He responded quickly and succinctly, "I have access to the galleons you need. I can easily afford to provide you with custom-made dragon hide armour, far superior to the ministry provided gear and any other items you need," raising his hand at the end, clearly showing her his heir ring to back up the point, before giving her a chance to examine it closer by giving her his hand.

Taking his offered hand to get a closer look at the ring, she checked it out, before replying, "I see, so what is the deal exactly then?"

"You become my personal trainer in DADA and duelling for the next two years. I can either pay you weekly for the additional hours at an agreed upon rate, and you can save this money up for when you leave Hogwarts and then use it to buy any gear you desire. Or, I can buy this gear for you at the end of the two years, to prevent you from spending the gold you were meant to be saving," he replied, 'he personally thought it was a good deal,' "Plus it's not taxed that way."

"Interesting" Tonks replied, and once again they lapsed into silence, before asking "Do you mind if I think this over and give my answer later, you gave me lot to think about?"

"That's fine, but I'd like to know by next week at the latest, so that gives you until next weekend to think it over," he said, before rising up from his seat to walk over to the door to get on with his evening.

"Wait, I know you're a Potter, I recognise the crest, but what's your first name?" She asked, moving towards the door to follow, this resulted in her tripping over her own robes.

Moving over to help her up, he took a hand, and helped her back to her feet, before placing a light kiss to back of her hand, before saying "Harry James Potter, Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter," followed up by a warm smile. "And you know you can find out a lot and confirm everything I've said tonight about aurors in the library, just by asking Madam Pince for the ministry career advice articles," he advised.

**Midnight Gold**

A week had passed since their first meeting, yet he knew he had gotten Tonks to agree the moment he gave her a kiss on the hand; it was just a matter of time. After all, money and charm go a long way in the world.

Tonks had taken the deal in the end, but had chosen to take the gold now, rather than later. He could easily see that backfiring in a couple years' time if she decided to join the aurors, but that was her choice, not his. Of course, in a couple years he could offer something similar and gain additional favour. He could see many advantages to having indebted friends in magical law enforcement. The information potential alone would be worth it many times over.

As fair compensation, they had agreed upon 70 galleons a month for eight hours a week. Now he had a teacher he could actually understand and duel with, he also felt better after the first duel being able to vent his unspent energy. It was made even better when he had taken Tonks down by surprising her with his second year spell knowledge. The value of surprise was once again confirmed to be a great equalizer, even over an opponent with greater skill, power, and experience. A valuable lesson to be sure.

He had also solved his potion evaluation problem by attaching them to a Gringotts Bank owl, which had just delivered his monthly bank statement. He gave instructions to Bloodmoon that he wanted a potion master to test his own brews, and to give him feedback and advice should any problems be detected. He trusted that his account manager would take a reasonable fee for finding a suitable potion master. So everything was going well on that front as well.

Now all he could do was wait and see what happened.

**Midnight Gold**

Christmas was just a couple weeks away and a lot of the students were excited about returning home to see their families. Harry himself was just happy to be away from his; he took great comfort in the knowledge that he would never have to spend another Christmas with them again.

But now he was faced with the problem of having to select and send Christmas presents to his friends. He also had to decide who he was giving gifts to in the first place. He personally was going for more simple items, this year at least, that way it didn't matter whether they got him one or not.

He gave them all a mixture of candies. To Padma he gave some chocolate frogs since he knew she was addicted to them as much as he was. He also gave them all a generous gift card to one of the magical bookstores in the alley.

However, he did include a book on mediation exercises since it would certainly help them later in learning the mind arts. He also included a cryptic message explaining the purpose of the book, seeing if they would understand its importance, as a test.

He was planning to give them all copies of his family's _'Discovering the Mind'_ or some book with a similar purpose, at the end of the school year, so they could learn over the summer.

After all, if he ever wanted to truly be able to trust them and share some more of his secrets, they would have to be able to keep them safe. Otherwise he doubted he would ever be able to fully 'open' up to them.

For the teachers he had simply gone with a bottle of good quality wine, since everyone likes a good bottle of wine he had been told, so why not get the teachers 'merry' with a bit of vino.

He had planned to send a bottle to everyone. Sadly, that included the Headmaster and Snape, since he didn't want to raise attention by leaving them out.

He was tempted to just send socks instead to the headmaster, after all, don't all old people love warm clothing? In the end he dismissed it as a silly idea, and just went with the wine as it was easier.

He kept the one which was originally meant for Binns to himself, because he bought that by mistake. And frankly he wanted to try some for himself; the ghost wouldn't miss it, he couldn't even drink it.

So now he was walking the corridors, heading to the hospital wing; he needed some answers and he figured that that was the best place to find them.

Entering the room, he saw that all the hospital beds were empty with no sign of the medi-witch, so he made his way over to her office.

After greeting Poppy he explained his problem, about being restless with energy and having sleeping problems because of it.

Poppy did some complex wand movements before eyeing him carefully, then looking at his hand with the Potter ring on it, before sighing.

"Mr Potter, your restlessness is in part due to your house ring," indicating to his hand before continuing on in explanation "your house ring ties you magically to your family's ancestral home. These old homes were intentionally built on ley lines, and would power your house wards in times of crisis or siege, similar to the ones here at Hogwarts" gesturing to the walls around them.

"These lines would naturally provide more power for wards, effectively turning a manor into a small fortress, for a short period of time at least. As well as providing the owners of the wards with an increase in magical prowess for a short time, as long as they were inside the wards' area of effect" she said factually while looking him over before her features turned to a decidedly sad expression.

"These wards would be controlled by the magically acknowledged head of the family, while the heir" gesturing to his ring "would slowly be integrated into the wards' control scheme over several decades, before, in time, becoming the head of the family themselves. Due to you having no living head of the family to control this flow of magical energy, the excess energies are flowing into you, effectively recharging you faster than you normally would, hence why you're restless and don't need as much sleep; it also explains how you were able to kill the troll" she said informally.

"What do you mean?" Harry replied with interest, this being a completely unknown topic to him.

"These old rings allow for a temporary boost in power while the bearer is in stressful or life threatening situations, overriding the safety features and effectively giving a short boost of magical power, allowing you to use additional magical energy for a short period of time. However, if sustained for long periods, this can actually damage one's magical core, making it unstable, resulting in death after your core explodes, hence the reason for the safety features in the ring" she answered.

"Oh" he replied, it was a lot of information to take in after all, before asking "are there any long-term dangers involved in this, gesturing to his ring, while silently thinking about the Peverell ring hanging round his neck. A family that magically he was already the head of.

"No, eventually your body will adapt, due to your young age and the fact that your core is still growing. Eventually this will allow you to return to normal sleeping levels; it probably will actually feed your core's growth beyond the norm, giving you a minor gain in permanent power over your lifetime." She said in a thinking tone, before her voice became heavy and serious.

"I must stress that you absolutely should not intentionally put yourself in dangerous situations thinking it will make you more powerful. It will most likely kill you if you're channelling such power before your body is capable of handling it" she said in a lecturing voice. "I can't tell you how it works beyond that though, you'd have to talk to a specialist if you want to know more. All I can tell you are the medical causes and effects" she said pointedly.

"However, I'm going to ask you to see me once a week for the remainder of the school year so that we can monitor your core for any early warning signs" the nurse said in a tone which made it clear that it wasn't a request, more like an order.

"Fine" he replied in a bored tone, before replying, there was no point arguing over it, she would just get his head of house involved, "any idea how much permanent additional growth this will cause?"

She looked him over carefully before answering "I would guess somewhere around 1-3% additional growth, as long you don't do anything overly stupid" she replied, "however, there has never been a study on this, since there are so few subjects to monitor with these circumstances" she said in a scholarly tone.

"What do you mean?" he said instinctively.

"Mr Potter, think about everything I said, this only happens when no blood family members are left alive. How many other individuals can you think of are in the same situation as you? You're the first underage heir of an old family, in a century with these circumstances. The Death Eaters didn't leave orphans by choice, they wiped out whole families, including their children" she said in an angry tone, "plus there are all the additional factors to consider."

Deciding to leave quickly, rather than risk a repeat of what had happened to Percy, he decided to leave her to her work, "Thank you madam, I'll see you next week" he replied in a grateful tone, rather than risking angering her further, before fleeing the office and hospital wing altogether.

Upon leaving the hospital wing he found a quiet, secluded spot and closely examined the ring hanging around his neck, wondering what was going to happen with the influence of two rings working upon him.

At least the nurse would be monitoring it. If it started getting serious, he would tell her about the Peverell ring rather than risk his health and development. Otherwise he would just have to be careful in his day-to-day life. So if the Peverell ring was affecting him the same way, he was looking at maybe an average 4% growth of his magical core in total, maybe 6% max.

Now he had to research ley lines to have some idea of what the nurse was talking about, plus he wanted to know himself. He was a raven after all, and knowledge was power. Almost literally in this case now that he had two distinct links with several ley lines or more.

**Library **

It had taken him several hours to find the necessary books, even with the librarian helping him to find some of the relevant reference books.

The books didn't go into much detail, but provided a rather simple explanation.

_Ley lines are the natural pathways of the planet's magical energy, like a river or a stream flowing across the land, often resulting in magical life growing around these lines where natural magic is at its strongest. Stronger and fewer still are those places on the Earth where more than one ley line intersect, forming a focal point and more powerful source of combined magic to tap._

_These lines and there stronger intersection points are often used for long-lasting, large-scale warding, or for magical settlements due to the natural magics availability to empower wards and support the growth and development of diverse magical life. An intersection of three or more ley lines are primarily used for powering a country's ward schemes, or key places. Key examples of these powerful and rare intersection points are the __**Ministry of Magic**__ and __**Hogwarts**__. _

_Historically, powerful magical families and Warlords used these intersection points to build their own magical strongholds. Few accessible locations intersecting more than one ley line are privately owned today. Most of these spots are now owned by national governments since the original old families who held them have entirely passed on to the next great adventure._

_The wizard or witch channelling such energies from the wardstones that are keyed to such ley lines, may use them to increase their own magical energies for short-erm gain, often doubling or tripling their prowess. However, when used for extended periods of time, the magical core can often destabilize violently. The more power that is channelled, the faster this effect can happen. _

_It has been noted though that it often takes several years for a wizard or witch to integrate into a wardstone matrix tapping a single ley line or an intersection point, before he or she can use this ability fully._

Closing the book, it had answered his question; it also meant that most of the remaining old families, such as his own, had access to these ley lines and perhaps the rarer intersection points. Didn't matter much now, but it was good to know for the future.

It also meant that the Headmaster was far more powerful than most people believed if the old man could tap into the intersected ley lines found here in an emergency. It explained why Lord Voldemort never marched on Hogwarts, since the Headmaster's power could very well double or triple for a short period of a duel, giving him an unmistakable advantage.

It made him wonder just how much damage the headmaster could do if he wanted to; combined with his knowledge could he ever be beaten in his stronghold? Could he level dozens of wizards with a single spell? It really was mind blowing when he thought about it. He was grateful that he had no plans to ever fight the man directly; it also confirmed in his mind that if he ever had to fight the headmaster, it would have to be by hitting the man in the back or solely on the political battlefield.

However, his attention was drawn away from these thoughts as a shadow fell upon him, looking up he saw that it was Daphne. He had to admit that he liked the cold blonde, but he wouldn't say so to her.

"Hi Daphne," he said looking up.

"Harry" came the one word response, before sitting down quickly and looking over his choice in books. "Interesting choice in texts."

"Yes, they are" gesturing to the books arrayed in front of him. He made no point in hiding them, as it would only draw her attention to the fact that he had, and she would undoubtedly look up what he had just finished reading anyway. Plus he had nothing to hide. Looking across the table, he spoke "Want me to check your charm's essay?"

She replied straight away, this was their routine after all, "Same deal as before, you check my charms essay, I check your herbology one?"

"Of course," he replied and went about swapping assignments, before going about checking the essay. Looking up with one eye he could clearly see that Daphne was watching him, obviously having something she wanted to ask, "What's on your mind?"

"I was just wondering what you have been up to the last couple of days" she asked in a curious tone.

He decided to go with the truth, as he doubted his extra training would stay secret for long. "I am practising DADA in the evening, a couple hours a week. After the whole troll in the bathroom deal, and Penny in the hospital wing, I decided to get in some extra practical training, mainly target practise and dodging spells." He answered.

"Understandable, I would too after having to deal with an adult mountain troll. My father said there is still no official report about the troll; it seems the headmaster has managed to keep it out of ministry involvement" she replied.

"I expected as much since it wasn't in the paper" Harry responded, in a cold tone. It annoyed him that such an event could be overlooked by the papers.

Several minutes passed in comfortable silence, while they went about the task of checking the other person's essay.

"Harry, have you ever wondered why Penny is being so helpful towards you, besides being assigned to mentor you?" She asked.

"Yea a bit, but I just guessed that it was due to her being assigned to me, as well maybe Penny coming to see me as a little brother of sorts, but after the troll incident she may believe she owes me some kind of debt for saving her," he answered, in a puzzled tone. It really did puzzle him, he expected Daphne had a theory or something, since he doubted she would bring this up as a subject for small talk.

"You're correct to a point, what do you know of wizard debts?" Daphne asked, putting her quill down and watching him, waiting for him to respond.

"Not as much as I would like. I know a bit about the financial side, but I haven't really had a chance to look into it, after all I've only known about magic since this summer" he admitted to her.

She just nodded accepting this answer, before asking in a questioning tone, "What do you know about life debts?"

**End of chapter**


	11. Y1 Oaths and Messages

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For mature themes **

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord **

**Chapter 11:**** Binding Oaths **

**Rewritten Edition**

**Reposted 28th April 2013**

**Revised and****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

A week had passed since his chat with Daphne, to say it was eye opening would be an understatement. He knew that magic could be used to make different types of magical oaths, as well as to bind others to another from his conversation with Bloodmoon during the summer. But he had never realized that magic would create debts by its own unwritten rules of seeking a balance. Fortunately for him, Daphne was willing to fill in the gaps that Bloodmoon missed or had overlooked the previous summer, and had explained that magic itself was more like a primal force. That it always worked to create a balance, that it was neither living nor dead, not good or evil, it just simply existed.

Therefore magic, by its own unwritten laws of seeking a balance, creates 'life debts' between individuals as a reward for saving another person's life at the risk of their own life without any thought of reward. Of course, by this magical law you couldn't create or engineer a dangerous situation in the hope of gaining a reward; the possible debt under those circumstances would be forfeited due to your own involvement and culpability. Naturally, you could lie and trick the individual to achieve the same results, but magic itself would not enforce the debt.

In short, youcouldn't have any role in setting the events into motion and your actions had to be selfless and pure in the saving, hence making a true 'life debt' a rather rare thing.

A natural extension of this is that a healer couldn't receive a life debt for treating the dying or the sick, due to it being their job to heal. The same went for aurors since they were charged with the duty of protecting their fellow magicals from danger, it was what they were paid to do after all. Both positions, by their very nature, invalidated the selfless and pure motivation required for the saving.

Naturally this led to him having dozens of questions on the subject, trying to gain a greater understanding about life debts and the complex magic behind them. In short, he lived up to his Ravenclaw reputation quite well, however Daphne knew better than to allow him to get on a roll with his questioning, and had instead pointed him towards the bookshelves of the school library and stated rather coldly, "Look it up for yourself, I'm _not_ an encyclopaedia," thus ending any thoughts he had of quizzing her endlessly.

Letting the matter drop for a bit, he carried on reading before asking several careful questions testing the proverbial waters. Eventually Daphne reluctantly admitted that she didn't really know, "This is all _mainly_ speculation, wizards and witches from the start of time have tried to define exactly what magic is, before the druids finally settled on the general idea of it being a balancing force. And this idea and concept behind the life debt, was accepted as the best answer available to them."

The only real thing he could say to that was, "interesting," but that was an understatement in itself. After all it was a bit like the debate surrounding the big bang theory for the creation of the universe, no one really knew for sure, it was just based on the visual evidence available. In the end, it was just like all other theories floating around trying to explain away something beyond our current understanding, all designed to give people some measure of comfort and semblance of control.

"Most wizards and witches just accept that magic exists, without question," Daphne added, whilst at the same time giving her own viewpoint before suddenly adding. "It's a bit like whether you believe god exists or not, you just don't _know _for sure, so the best thing you can do is get on with your life the best _you_ can and not worry about it overmuch."

Smiling at Daphne's argument, he quite agreed with the slytherin for a change, "Yea, I know what you mean." Harry voiced in agreement, having already thought over the issue of religious faith, before suddenly remembering the witch hunts. "So what is the main faith then of the magical world?" he probed, wondering just what magicals believed in, because he hadn't encountered any texts on the subject of magical faith, and from what he knew of the Christian bible, witches were considered to be in league with the devil.

"Everyone is different," she answered back carefully, surprisingly diplomatic. "But most magicals don't believe in God like the muggles do. The witch hunts and being burnt at the stake saw to that, but most follow a mixture of Pagan and Christian beliefs and see magic as a primal energy, a Force, just like how muggles _see_ their monotheistic God."

'A bit like Star Wars then,' he thought, immediately seeing the similarities in her explanation, whilst remembering Obi-wan's talk about the force binding all living things together in Episode 4. Naturally this led to him asking about ghosts and spirits, since the castle was full of them.

He watched how the slytherin rearranged herself at this question, her shoulders becoming straighter, showing that Daphne felt far more confident and sure about this particular subject. "Ghosts are _just_ imprints of a soul's magical energies, like an echo. These echoes remain for some unknown reason, though oftentimes it's believed that they stay due to an uncompleted task that they failed to complete in life, something terribly important to them, consciously or unconsciously. Like a murder victim's echo staying behind, until its murderer was caught, or they received some type of justice."

Of course, this just gave him more questions to ask, but Daphne stopped him before he could get started "_You_ have to learn for yourself what you believe in, I can't tell you. All these things are just theories that past wizards and witches have passed on. If you wish to debate this, find a theologian, or read a book'. He acknowledged this as a fair point, after all she couldn't tell him what to choose to believe, nor would he let her.

He only had one more question that he wanted to ask her, and it was about her own personal beliefs, however he resisted the urge to just blurt it out since it was a rather personal subject. Her answer was short and to the point, "I follow the beliefs and practises that my ancestors did; you could say I am a druid or a naturalist, this is one of the reasons why my family is considered dark by some. Because_ we _don't follow the modern ideas, and still partake in traditional druidic rituals which are considered dark by some of the 'lighter' families."

He nodded in acceptance, it was a reasonable explanation. After all no one ever had the definitive right answer when it came to these things like this. This was probably the reason why he leaned more towards cold logic and science to dictate his actions, even if that had been thrown significantly off balance with the discovery of magic this past summer, which defied rational logic and reasoning most of the time.

Now he was faced with the problem of what to do about Penny and Hermione, and their respective life debts. After all based on how Daphne had explained it to him, it would appear both of them had a debt to both him and Neville, and possibly Ron as well in Penny's case. Since he wasn't the reason why Penny was there and thus her life threatened, it was possible a life debt had been created; Penny was there trying to calm Hermione down due to her duties as a school prefect. He wasn't too sure if Neville had his own life debt with Hermione, since his actions or lack thereof, could have caused Hermione to be put into that dangerous situation in the first place.

Sure, Ron was the source of the problem with his bullying of Hermione, which had lead to Penny being in that bathroom in the first place to comfort the Gryffindor, but the issue was magic didn't think that far ahead. It was simple, Ron had, in some small part, saved her life. Meaning he had some type of hold on her, even if it was only a partial one _at best_. Even then, that debt could have been forfeited when he refused to get her help that night, but there was no way to know for sure.

'Damn,' life debts were some awfully confusing and nebulous things, he mentally ranted.

He could just forget about it and hope for the best, but as Daphne had explained, the 'debt' being left unfulfilled could influence the person in many unforeseen ways. Such as Penny being incredibly helpful, far more than what normally would be expected from someone. It also meant that if he was ever in a life or death situation, Penny would be compelled to risk her own life for his. Simply put, she would take a killing curse for him without hesitation, simply due to the debt demanding equal payment. Therefore debts could be very dangerous if left unresolved. And he didn't particularly like the idea of one of his good 'friends' endangering themselves for him, due solely to some magical debt influencing their judgement and actions.

Thankfully, previous generations of wizards and witches, through trial and error, had developed ways to cancel out such debts, since money fails to solve this type of problem. After all, pureblood wizards didn't want their children staying indebted to other families of lesser stock and 'breeding,' especially rivals ones as the debt could be easily turned against them. A son or daughter with such a debt could be compelled to betray their own family's secrets if their 'saviour' demanded such action in payment.

There were several other ways this debt could be used for less than honourable deeds as well, such as forcing one into permanent servitude as a bound slave.

If it had just been him the life debt was potentially owed to, it wouldn't have been a problem, since he could just ignore it for the most part. Penny then would have just been more loyal or trust worthy. But now, with a possible three way life debt in play, it was basically first come, first served. And only one of them could ultimately 'claim' the reward for their heroics. So it was either him, Neville or Ron. Both of them were unknowns really and both were pureblood, they would probably at some point in the future hear about life debts, if they hadn't already. They would remember the troll incident and possibly call it in as was the standard practice for purebloods, and personally he couldn't see them forgetting about the troll.

As much as he hoped that they would be 'noble and honourable' like their famed house, he didn't put it past them not to use it for some malevolent end. He didn't like the idea of Penny being turned into a 'sex-toy' just because of their teen hormones in later years, or even her being turned against him, taking many of his secrets with her. She was his friend and ally, and he would protect his friends against any that would do them harm.

So he was faced with a difficult choice, act first and seal Penny's and possibly Hermione's loyalty to him? Or hope that the lion cubs would live up to their reputation for nobility. Lions were far from being clean cut though he reminded himself, his godfather had betrayed his parents and he was a lion. Then there was the Headmaster to consider, his current magical guardian, and the possible mastermind responsible for robbing his vaults and his placement at Dursleys, proving that lions were not all the upstanding individuals the world believed. Therefore, logic dictated that he should act first before anything could happen and the choice be taken from him. There were several ways to go about claiming the debt. One was marriage, which he rejected immediately; since he felt he was far_ too_ young for that. He could magically bind her himself and effectively claim her as his. But he rejected that as well, after all, she was his friend. He had been treated like a slave himself for most of his childhood, he would never force it on another, especially someone who_ had never_ done anything to him to deserve it.

So the best and safest thing he could do, for both her and him, was to claim the debt for himself by demanding a lesser payment. Penny could swear an 'Oath of a Companion' to him. This would effectively ensure that Penny would remain herself, but would be entirely loyal to him. Effectively, she would be considered a vassal, and truthfully he considered himself a better person than both of the lions combined, plus as the saying goes, 'better me than them.' So now he just had to talk to Penny and explain what he had learned about the possible life debt. That would certainly be a _difficult_ conversation. Hopefully he could get this sorted out before they left for Christmas break, giving her a chance to come to terms with it over Christmas.

He expected she wouldn't take it too well, but hopefully she would agree to it willingly rather than risk other, less kind oaths possibly being forced upon her by the others involved. Worst case scenario, he could just force the issue; it was a necessary evil and hopefully it would prevent a worse one from ever happening to his friend. For now, he would just make sure that he had all the facts and that they were correct and accurate, before he made such a life-changing decision. This would affect both his and Penny's life forever. If he went through with this there would be no turning back.

So that meant he would spend the rest of the week in the library, checking over everything he had learned about debts and oaths. He just hoped that he was above abusing the Oath and that that power didn't corrupt him. After all, as the saying goes, 'the road to hell was paved with good intentions.' He couldn't help but wonder if 'road to heaven was paved with bad ones?' Why couldn't everything just be simple he thought, before shaking his head in frustration.

**Midnight Gold**

Another night in the library's legendary Restricted Section had given the same answers; his facts were correct as least as far as they could be confirmed with his limited resources.

But this wasn't his only problem of late; Professor Snape had taken to regularly trying to probe his mind, resulting in his ring heating up at least once per lesson at random. He couldn't help but wonder why the sudden interest in seeing into his mind, surly he knew the heir ring would warn him. After all the man was the Head of House famous for following traditions, and their practise, surely the head of house would know of the protective magics of the ring?

That meant one of two things. He either didn't know and thus thought he could get away with it, which he sincerely doubted was the case. Or, he was somehow protected against being prosecuted by the law, since using legilimency was illegal without a license and explicit authorization from the head of magical law enforcement. Using it on underage wizards and witches was considered bad enough to land one in Azkaban for a rather long stay. And he doubted the head of magical law enforcement was interested enough in school gossip to risk her career authorizing it.

So by process of elimination that meant it was illegal usage of the ability and that Professor Snape believed he was protected from the consequences. And since it obviously wasn't the ministry involved, it meant that it was probably Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot Albus Dumbledore who was protecting the potions master from the law.

After the whole troll incident and how that entire event was kept quiet and out of the newspaper, it was made clear to him that it was probably better to bypass the staff all together in reporting this crime. Otherwise it would just be buried and subsequently forgotten about.

Fortunately for him, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement currently had a niece here at the school, and could be used as an intermediary to get in contact with her aunt. Hopefully he could then provide evidence to start an official investigation. He would also try to get the newspaper involved and thus get the public behind it, to prevent it from being kept quiet again.

He was now waiting outside the Puff common room for Susan Bones to appear so that she could hand-deliver his letter to her aunt. He didn't trust school owls to deliver the letter, since mail filtering wards were probably set up to intercept any mail sent directly to the DMLE at the ministry.

He didn't know how long he had been waiting outside their common room door, but it didn't matter as he had no other plans for today and this was important. So he was in no rush. Plus it allowed him to collect his thoughts and feelings while practicing mind magic. Eventually the red-headed girl appeared, being escorted by a handful of other puffs. Not really surprising considering the puffs generally travelled in packs, rather than risk being ambushed alone. After all, most houses considered the Puffs weaklings and therefore easy prey for bullies.

Ravens and Puffs were allies to a point; both respected each other for their own merits, such as ravens being knowledgeable and Puffs being hard working. But that didn't mean that one house didn't try to take advantage of the other; it was a quiet alliance at the best of times, as both houses walked between the lions' and snakes' long rivalry. All while trying not to get drawn into the crossfire.

Standing up from his sitting position against the wall he spoke, "Miss Bones, I hope I could ask you to deliver a letter to your aunt for me," he started, before observing her escort, only two of which he had ever had the pleasure of talking to before. One was Hannah and the other was Erin, neither of them were outright knowledgeable, but they weren't annoying or lazy either, so he had no issue working with them if need be in class.

"May I ask why you wish me to give this letter to my aunt?" she replied with a bit of curiosity.

He went with his prepared response, "Well, I am in need of some advice about the law and as your aunt is the head of the DMLE, I'd wish for her guidance on a certain sensitive matter. The specific matter relies on the utmost discretion and secrecy," he replied cryptically.

"Why not just use an owl?" she shot back, watching him carefully.

"Well, I believe someone will attempt to intercept the owl... Frankly, I believe some staff members may be involved in a criminal activity. And since I can't leave the castle, my choices _are_ limited. Hence, why I asked you for assistance," he answered back to the silent puffs.

Several minutes passed before Susan managed to compose herself, "Well, I think I can understand why you'd ask me then. Are you certain this isn't some type of prank being played on you?" she asked seriously.

Shaking his head, "No, not to my knowledge. I just wish to get some answers. I don't want to cry wolf, by mistake, I am sure you understand what I mean," he replied, wondering if she understood the reference to the muggle bedtime story.

"Ok, give me the letter and I'll pass it along, as long as it doesn't get me into trouble," Susan answered carefully, before seeing a nod from her housemates.

Reaching into his robes he pulled out a sealed letter with the Potter family crest proudly displayed on it, and passed it to her, "I would make an oath if required," he replied seriously, hoping it would reassure her that he was being genuine.

"I don't believe that would be necessary" she replied, taking the offered letter.

"Thank you Miss Bones, I hope you have an enjoyable Christmas break," he replied.

"Call me Susan, we're classmates," came the reply.

"Only if you call me Harry," he said with a smile, wondering if he could get an ally in Hufflepuff house out of this.

**Midnight Gold**

**Night before Christmas Break **

He was currently playing a game of chess against Padma, and it was a rather equal match up for a change. Since Padma had taken up a new style of play to combat him specifically she had thrown him off balance. She called this new style of chess 'Blitz Chess.' He had missed these matches; with all the recent events which had required his attention, he had hardly had time to enjoy the little things.

At the moment they were playing Blitz Chess, which as the name suggested was a rather fast paced game, with a 15 second time limit between moves to make it more interesting. Since it limited his ability to think 6 six moves ahead all the time, he no longer had the time to study the board extensively between moves. Blitz chess was all about making quick decisions and taking calculated risks, where the wrong moves could end the game in minutes. Normal chess was mostly about foresight and planning, which he could normally win by default considering his proficiency with the mind arts. Blitz chess on the other hand required much faster thinking and the ability to adapt on the fly to a fast changing situation. He had a feeling this type of thinking and decision making would be far more useful to him throughout his life.

Checking the door, he wondered how long it would be until Penny turned up. "Looking for someone," Padma inquired between moves, obviously noticing him checking the common room on a regular basis.

"Yea Pad, I need to talk to Penny this evening," he replied, before making a move, designed to counter her knight.

"What about?" she asked, before making her own move.

"Bit nosy tonight, aren't we," he replied cheekily.

"Like you said, knowledge is power," she replied, with a small smile.

"Well, if you _must_ know, it's about the whole troll incident," he replied, before making his move, which unfortunately resulted in his bishop being taken.

"Oh," she replied. "Is this about the possible life debt," causing his head to shoot up fast from the board.

"How do you know about that, Padma?" he asked, before making his own move, trying to counter her rook.

"Well, I am a pureblood after all," as if that was an acceptable answer before explaining further. "My father taught me about such things before school, whilst my sister was busy with our mother clothes shopping. Plus, I saw some of the books you've been reading, about debts and magical oaths, so I put 2 plus 2 together to get 4," she answered smugly, happy to be using muggle sayings like that correctly.

"Well, please keep it quiet. I want to explain it to Penny first, and wouldn't want someone else to mislead her," looking around the room, wondering if anyone else had heard them speak of this sensitive topic.

"Sure, I just hope whatever oath you picked is reasonable; she is our friend after all," she replied seriously. "If you're a bastard about this, I guarantee the female population of Hogwarts will make sure you regret it," she said threateningly, yet knowing deep down that while Harry could be rather mercenary and ruthless at times, he was good to his friends.

He just nodded to his friend's threat, "Do you think anyone else knows about life debts?" he asked, wondering just how common the knowledge was.

"I doubt many would know about it until it happened to them. I think only purebloods would know about it, but only due to their parents teaching them about common oaths and stuff. Wouldn't surprise me that only sixth years and above know of such things." She replied seriously, before making her own countermove.

"Why do you say sixth years and above then?" he asked, making his own countermove, and wondering why Daphne knew about it at her age then.

"Simple, most households start training their children after they have completed their OWLs," she replied, moving her bishop to check his king. "Check."

"Then why did your father teach you then?" he asked seriously, before moving his king accordingly.

She moved her knight, "Checkmate," she stated smugly, before explaining. "A couple years ago my brother almost died and was in a coma for a long time. Therefore I was the heir to the family name, if the worst happened, hence my education started earlier than normal, due to the fears of my brother's death. It forced me to take up his duties in his place, otherwise it wouldn't have happened until I much older. It's probably the reason why I'm a raven actually. I was forced to grow up earlier during the eight weeks he was in the coma; my father didn't know whether my brother would live or die," she admitted soberly.

He knocked over his king in a sign of defeat, before responding, "Sorry to hear about your brother Pad, fancy another game?" hoping to avenge his defeat after realizing that Pad had slyly used the conversation to distract him from the game. Padma's explanation had also explained why Daphne knew about such things; she was the heiress to the Greengrass name. It reinforced his decision to act now; Longbottom was in the same situation as Daphne and could have already been educated about such debts considering he was the sole heir to his family name.

Just then Penny walked through the common room door, heading in their direction, before sitting down beside him, once again almost sitting on his lap.

"Penny, could I talk to you sometime this evening, after you're done packing? There is something I seriously need to talk to you about," he asked, trying to be as discreet as possible in this open of an area.

"Sure, I am already packed anyway, we can talk now if you'd like," she stated.

He looked at Padma, who just nodded that this was fine, "Let's go then," he said, before offering Penny a hand.

**Dorm room**

"What do you want to talk about then Harry?" Penny asked, after she finished putting up a silencing ward on the room, as Harry had asked, before sitting on the corner of his bed, flashing him a bit of her smooth, well-toned legs in the process.

"I don't know where to begin Penny. What do you recall about the Halloween incident?" He asked carefully. No matter how much he had thought this conversation through or researched the subject, he was still uncomfortable with it.

"Not much, just that _you_, Neville, and Ron saved my life." She said with an unsure smile.

"I wish it were that simple, however it is much more complicated than it would seem," he said, rising from his chair to take out the books that he had smuggled out of the library over the course of the week, before handing them to a now visibly concerned Penny.

"I've marked the parts that you need to read," he said seriously, passing her close to a dozen books in total. He would not risk getting this wrong by relying on only one resource.

He all but threw himself into the chair next to his desk; he didn't know how much time had passed as all he did was watch as his friend's expressions worsened with each book she read. Her expression turned gradually into one of despair, before tears began to appear. Making his way over to his bed he sat down, pulling his friend into a tight hug while trying to comfort her as best he could. "Take some deep breaths, we need to talk this out," he said carefully, before pulling her into an even tighter embrace.

He didn't care much for time, he just sat there holding her tightly for as long as she needed it, eventually the tears beginning to lessen. As soon as Penny had calmed down enough, he spoke, "The crux of the problem we're facing is that this is possibly a 3 way life debt; if it was just me, it wouldn't matter, I wouldn't use it against you or demand any kind of payment, but we don't _know_ what the others might do," this caused her tears to start flowing again.

"Shhh, don't cry, nothing has to change. I found an oath which could be used to solve this," he said in his best reassuring tone, his magic unknowingly filling his words, a result of the charged emotions of the situation.

"Oath?" Penny asked uncertainly, between the tears and gasping breaths.

"Yea ... its call a 'Companion Oath,' in short you become my vassal and ally, bound to me by magic so that you could never intentionally betray me." He said carefully, while loosening his embrace of her, "And I become bound by magic to protect you as best as I can," before carefully handing her the book containing the oath. "It's actually quite a reciprocal relationship in some ways."

Penny continued reading while he spoke, "This is the best oath I could find; I looked for the last week going over all the references on the subject in the library, trying to find a way out. There was one other way, but I doubt you want to get married this early in life, especially to me, merely in satisfaction of a debt."

"All the other oaths were darker in nature, or in some way influenced you too much for my liking. I have no desire for you to be turned into a mindless slave, and I have no desire to watch someone else do that to you either. I will make a magical vow to you right now, if you ask it. I just want to keep you from a possibly worse fate," he said carefully. "Just be glad that it's not Malfoy or someone like that that you're indebted to; you know their views on first-generation witches and wizards." He said, before deciding to tell Penny about his childhood, to reinforce why he would never abuse his position and authority over her this oath would give him.

"Penny, let me tell you something that I've told no one else," this caused Penny to look up from the book. She knew that Harry would never share something personal or damaging unless he felt it was terribly important or the person had his trust. She suspected it was a bit of both in this case.

"After my parents were murdered, I was given to my mother's sister to be raised. From the day I arrived in that house I was abused, beaten, starved, and mistreated. I was treated and worked like a slave from the moment I was old enough to follow instructions. I had no birthdays, no Christmases, I didn't even have a name other than 'freak' or 'boy' until I started school," he said calmly as possible, before looking back at Penny, whose whole attention was on him.

"They spread rumours about me, being mentally damaged, violent and ungrateful for their generosity to cover the abuse; I still have scars covering my body. They allowed me to be bitten by my aunt's dog and left in a tree overnight," pausing to pull up his trouser leg to show the bite marks. "I _suffered_. They were scared of my magic, and they knew I was a magical before I could even speak. My magic would heal my wounds, heal my broken bones, so there were never any visible marks or a need to take me to the hospital where questions would be asked. Just for the cycle to repeat itself the next time my uncle had too much wine, or had a bad day at work," he said coldly, but internally raging at the memories of abuse and helplessness, his magic churning powerfully around him begging for release, to tear and rend.

"My uncle took it as a challenge, so the beatings increased in regularlity and intensity. I was locked in a cupboard under the stairs; that was my bedroom you see, whilst my cousin had his own bedroom and a playroom. This lead, among other things, to my eyesight being damaged, I recently found out. Many nights I fell asleep in a pool of my own blood, just to be forced to clean it up the next day as if I had made a mess to intentionally sully their home." He got off the bed and took off the t-shirt he had been wearing to reveal the scars he carried with him always, to the shock of Penny.

"These scars have faded a bit due to the fact I've been taking an extensive regimen of potions to fix the damage since the start of term, but simply put, the medi-witch that confidentially treated me said that I would have died if I had been a non-magical child. But these scars I visibly carry are but a fraction of the total damage done to me. The medi-witch report said that I have internal organ damage, 60 bone fractures and other malformed bones, due to them having healed incorrectly. In short I'll be taking several powerful potions a day for the next couple of years before I am anywhere near healed.

Looking back at Penny before continuing his speech "I suffered greatly, not just my body and health though, but also up here," Pointing to his head. "I was never loved. I was just hated. I never got a bed time story, I got beatings. I never got toys, I got chores. Where others got support and encouragement, I was told that I was worthless and useless and cost them money. I never had a happy childhood. Other people's nightmares were my day-to-day life," before taking one of her hands and running it along one of his scars, knowing it would have a far greater effect this way.

He looked into Penny eyes, "That was my life before I ran away. I wouldn't force that on anyone and _someday I'll return and have my revenge_ for what they took from me," He said angrily, his eyes dancing with fire, before calming himself when he realized he had said more than he intended to and continuing in a calmer manner, hoping to distract her from what he had just said.

"My one escape during this was my mind. No matter how much they beat me, no matter how weak I was from them starving me, it didn't stop me from learning, from trying to become more, trying to prove that I was worth something. The first friend I ever had was Padma. My cousin scared away any children who tried to befriend me, do you understand now why I would never abuse that oath?" he asked her in an almost desperate tone.

"Yea I do, I didn't know, I'm sorry," she said before tears once again began to form.

Walking over he took hold of her hands once again, "You have nothing to be sorry about, you didn't know because I didn't tell anyone. Pad only know pieces, due to catching me in a moment of weakness. You didn't do this to me, you weren't my neighbours who ignored me, and bought my relatives' lies. I just don't want you going through something similar due to this stupid life debt," he spat, before sitting down next to her.

They just sat there as the evening passed by, both thinking about everything said, "Ok, what do I have to do?" She asked quietly.

"I'll state that I desire payment in the form of the Companion Oath for saving your life, then you answer by acknowledging the debt, then swearing the Oath; this will complete the ritual and settle your personal life debt arising from this incident for all time. It will also prevent anyone else from claiming you, now and in the future. No matter what happens this means, no future life debts, no bonding rituals can be used against your will. Do you understand?" he asked carefully to receive a nod.

"Ok, follow me," climbing on to the bed, so he was on his knees facing Penny, Penny did the same, but was still taller than him by a head and a bit, forcing him to look up or stare into her good-sized chest, grasping her arm in a warrior-type hold.

"Let's go through the words once, so we don't make any mistakes," he said nervously, causing them to both practise their parts. After all one wrong word could totally change the meaning of the vow.

"Are you ready to begin?" he asked nervously, this being his first ritual after all.

"Yes, let's begin, before I lose my nerve," she replied.

"I, Harry James Potter, Call In The Life Debt Owed To Me By Penelope Clearwater For Saving Her Life," he stated, causing a faint silver glow to begin circling them, with a faint breeze rising, before he nodded to Penny to speak her part.

"I, Penelope Clearwater, Acknowledge the Debt Owed and Offer the Companion Oath in Payment for My Life," she began; causing the glow to increase in intensity and the speed it circled them.

"I, Harry James Potter, Accept the Offered Companion Oath in Payment; you may begin your oath," causing their joined hands to begin pulsing with magic.

"I, Penelope Clearwater, Vow to be Your Companion in Life, to be Your Friend, Your Advisor, to Support You in Times of Need, and To Never Intentionally Reveal Your Secrets, I Offer Myself as Your Vassal, Do you Accept This Vow, My Friend," she offered. Causing static to charge the air around them, their skin tingling with the powerful feeling.

"I Accept this Vow in Payment, May our Friendship Stay as True as the Day This Vow Was Made," his last words caused the energy in the air to discharge, both glowing in synch for a second, before it too began to fade away. It also gave him a killer headache causing him to collapse backwards onto his bed, just to look up to see Penny's concerned face hovering over him.

"Are you alright?" she asked in a panicked voice.

"I'm fine, it's just one of the known side effects of the oath," he answered to the concerned Penny.

"What do you mean by side effect, do we need go to hospital wing?" she questioned.

"Na, this is what happens when you bond with someone who is more powerful than you," he offered in explanation, still looking up at Penny, seeing drying tear tracks. Looking into her eyes like this, he saw she also now had a faint hint of green around them, the green which matched his own eyes acted like an outline. This wasn't present before the ritual.

"Ok, what time is it by the way?" she asked.

"Late," was his one word reply as he continued to look into her expressive eyes. He could see loyalty, friendship and comfort in those eyes; he knew she would always be there for him. They were connected now for life, deeper than any normal friendship.

"Funny," she replied in a sarcastic tone, before casting a spell to tell the time, revealing that it was half past 11. "I better head back to my dorm" she began before getting up and heading towards the door.

"Wait a sec, Penny," making his way over to his chest, getting out his family's book 'Discovering the mind' and handing her the book.

Looking over the offered book, "Mind arts?" she asked, curiosity clearly in her voice.

"Yea, it helps one develop one's mental defences, and protections against allures and external penetration from other wizards who are trained in attacking one's mind, such as Professor Snape. In addition it has the effect of enhancing the mind and memory, it's all explained in the introduction, but it's considered a borderline dark art as it can be used to invade another's privacy, as well as influence their mind," he lectured.

"Oh, I've never heard of it before," she replied, once again looking over the book with interest.

"That's because it stopped being taught at Hogwarts close to a century and half ago, only pureblood families know of it now. In fact it's one of their greatest advantages to help keep them on top, but so few of them now even attempt to learn it. But it's _extremely_ useful; all the most powerful wizards and witches in the last century have all been masters of the mind arts. So if you learn it, it will give you a great advantage over your peers. All the many perks are listed at the beginning of the chapter; I just ask you to keep quiet that you're learning it, because the book will probably be confiscated. It's rather rare and several centuries old, a book from my family's personal library; I'd rather it didn't end up in some pureblood library." He said seriously, "But consider it lent to you over Christmas, so that you can start the process as well as note down the necessary steps."

"Thank you" Penny replied, excited at the possibilities this unknown magic was capable of.

"You're welcome; consider it a perk of being my friend, as well as my Vassal and Companion. I'll show you my family's library sometime, it puts Hogwarts to shame," he said with a bright smile. "And the knowledge there is not just what the ministry approves of."

**Midnight Gold**

Percy Weasley had been having a very bad year; he had thought it to be the year he finally stepped into his own and out of the shadows. However, things had most certainly not gone as he had originally planned. First, he had no respect as a prefect, and often was ignored completely and targeted for pranks even more than he previously had been.

Then Penny had all but rejected him. Rejected _Him_! A model student! Surely the muggle-born had realized that he was the best choice for her future. They both wanted to work in the ministry, but instead she was hanging around with _Potter_. His mother had said the family had gone dark at the end of the last war. And now he believed it, Potter was often the source of his problems.

The worst thing about it was Potter kept acting like the bigger man, yet he was the source of the problems. Then the bastard had to go and save Penny's life and steal his chance to shine! _He_ was the lion, Potter was meant to be the bookworm in the library, not fighting trolls.

Ron had said that the brat had just stood back and watched as he and Neville battled the beast, and then stole the credit for it.

He would have to talk to his mother, surely she would have a plan. Maybe she could brew a love potion for him just to get the process started... After all, he had it all planned out, they would start dating this year, both would be model students, then the Headmaster would give them the Head Boy and Girl positions, before getting a nice steady job in the ministry.

Eventually they would get married, have children, she would stay at home and raise his sons and daughters, whilst he'd climbed the career ladder eventually to become the Minister of Magic himself. Then his brothers would see who was truly the most successful of the Weasleys!

**Midnight Lord**

"You wished to see me Headmaster," Severus asked smoothly.

"Please sit down my friend, lemon drop?" he asked out of habit.

"No thank you, I have no interest in drugged sweets. What did you want to see me about?" The potions master asked coldly, wanting this meeting to be over with as quickly as possible.

"First, the mirror has arrived, I had planned to show it to Neville, but he's returning home this Christmas, so it will have to be done later. Does the boy know about the stone yet?" he asked calmly.

"Indeed, the lion is playing his part as you predicted and hoped for; he is just trying to find out what the stone does now. I expect he will find out by the end of the Christmas holiday," the head of Slytherin house answered smoothly.

"Excellent, everything is proceeding as I have foreseen," he replied confidently, before moving to the window to watch the fresh snow gently fall. "What of Potter, have you managed to discover anything?" he asked his assistant. As the muggle saying went, he was the good cop and Severus was most certainly _the _bad cop.

"No progress, the brat is wearing the Potter Heir ring; it's blocking all of my attempts. In time I'll be able to overcome them, but I expect the brat knows about the attempt and what the ring does, since he never makes eye contact anymore with me. It would, could cause problems if the DMLE ever found out. You know Bones would love a chance to get me into the interrogation room," Severus replied with practiced smoothness, simultaneously reminding the Headmaster how many secrets he knew and that it was in the headmaster's best interests to protect him.

"Yes, yes, that's unfortunate, but unlikely to matter; I'm his magical guardian after all. I'll just drop the charges on his behalf if any appear, so feel free to carry on, worst case scenario I'll call in a couple favours and it will be buried, seemingly lost in the system never to see the light of day again. If that's fails to stop it, I'll just have Bones replaced or disgraced with someone more amenable to persuasion," he replied before slipping back into his own thoughts.

It was all for the greater good that he kept his friend free he thought. He _needed_ his spy when Voldemort inevitably returned. Severus provided an in-road into the remaining Death Eater ranks, allowing him some warning of their many schemes, as well as provided him with a unique viewpoint on issues that could only be seen and understood from a darker perspective.

He had already heard from the portraits in the corridors outside the Puff common room that Harry had asked Susan Bones to deliver a letter to her aunt, since he rightfully distrusted the school owls. He was a smart boy to not trust the school owls, but like many other students before he had forgotten about the paintings...he was sure the boy would realize his mistake in the end, he was just too smart not to, but for the meantime it didn't matter. He would just have to use the information discreetly and ensure that there was another explanation in place besides the paintings to keep the method from being discovered sooner than expected.

It didn't really matter in the end that the goblins were investigating him either; he had covered his tracks too well by using the dwarves and the appropriated identities of long dead men. In short, the only way the Goblins would be able to prove it was him was if he confessed himself, and that wasn't going to happen. Worst case, he would just allow laws to be passed making goblin evidence unusable in wizard courts, the dark families were always trying to get that bit of nonsense passed.

Besides, he had discreetly let slip to the dwarves that the goblins were arming themselves for war against them, as his spies within the bank had reported to him. It would result in both of them having a long, bloody, drawn-out war, weakening them both greatly before the end, since both species were too prideful to call a truce. This would ultimately restore the balance of power in the wizards's favour. If need be he could then use their weakness against them by launching his own attacks through the Ministry to restore control of the economy back to the wizards.

That was if he could remove Tom first. If Tom came back during the future goblin-dwarf war, it would keep both parties out of the wizard war. Ultimately the wizards would rise to the top, under his guidance of course, with his Order of the Phoenix being the sword. If Neville was still alive, he would play the hero, the champion of his army, bringing light to the Goblins' dark tunnels, and bringing order to chaos.

"Is there anything else, Headmaster? I have papers to mark." Severus asked coldly, reminding the Headmaster of his presence.

"Oh, sorry my old friend, I was lost in my own thoughts. Yes, you can go," dismissing his friend and watching his friend leave before turning back to the window.

When Tom finally returns he would need to act fast, he wouldn't allow that darkness to return on his watch again. Two had almost died already due to Tom's follower's actions.

Pacing over to pet his familiar, he could feel approval for his plans rolling off his friend; after all, some deaths were necessary for rebirth. Whenever the forest grew too large a wildfire would burn it down, making the soil fertile again with the rich ash, allowing new growth to take hold. Muggles often blamed these fires on campers, but in truth it was Fawkes starting the process of rebirth, allowing the new to replace the old.

In the last war he'd been too slow to act, too passive, too bound by his own fears. _This_ time he would act both quickly and decisively. In hindsight he could clearly see how the mistakes he had made had cost lives needlessly. The Potters had been right, he _wasn't_ a General. But hopefully this time, he could be...

The Death Eaters had been given their second chance, they had had over a decade to reflect on their ways and seek penance for their actions. This time he wouldn't hold the Order back; all the old death eaters would be put to the sword if they took up their old ways. Whilst the young they had corrupted would be imprisoned. If that failed, he would up the stakes.

He was sure that after several of the newer generation saw a few of their friends suffer the kiss, they would repent. After all, it was their very soul on the line and sometimes darker deeds needed to be done to save the rest of the herd.

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note: **Not much changed in the way of story content, increase worked on trying to improve the grammar. Added about **1.5k words**


	12. Y1 Reflections and Mirrors

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M for mature themes.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord** – **Chapter: 12**

**Reflections and Mirrors**

**Reposted 12h May 2013**

**Revised and ****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

Sitting alone in her compartment away from her friends, she was currently thinking over everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. She had gone from a girl who had common enough concerns, like an ex-boyfriend who needed to let go and move on (seriously they had only kissed a couple of times!) and worries about her examinations and possible future in the wizarding world. Her future, though, based on the events of last night, had been sealed to a point. She was effectively bound for life. She had certainly never expected this when she agreed to mentor Harry. At least it was a reasonable binding in payment of the life debt; it could have been far worse if he had been a spiteful or twisted person. She doubted anyone would like being turned into a mindless sex-toy; instead he had gone for a simple binding. Her own research confirmed that the Companion Oath was a simple one and far more preferable than the alternatives, so one way or another she was in his life for good.

If it hadn't been so serious, she would be laughing at the irony of the situation. After all she had started this whole process wanting his backing and she had certainly got it, just not in the way she had hoped.

At least she would have the support of his House. She was effectively a vassal now of Harry and through him the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Thinking it over objectively, it was far better to be an extended member of the elite Potter household than that of the Weasleys, despite Percy's claim that they were the almighty Dumbledore's favourites. After all how had being his favourites helped them really?

They were still the lowest on the food chain in terms of social status; the average well-off half-blood even outranked them in terms of power and influence based on everything she had seen and heard. As much as she hated the idea of being bound to someone for life, she had gotten quite lucky that it had been to a friend like Harry, rather than some random person. Also due to the Companion Oath's pledge of loyalty, it meant she would be trusted far more than anyone else. She knew in her heart that Harry would go far in his life and she would be right by his side now.

Then there was the fact that he had told her of his life before Hogwarts, and shared his deeply personal story so she knew he wouldn't abuse the oath's power. She couldn't even blame him for wanting revenge after everything he had described. Despite her sound reasoning that it could have been far worse, she was still upset about the life-debt, even if she had gotten off lucky. She now had the entire Christmas break to come to terms with it without his presence.

Looking out the window at the passing trees, she wondered what would happen to Hermione, after all, the first year had a life debt to Harry as well. Maybe she should be warned of the situation?

She weighed the pros and cons in her mind, before deciding to visit the young lioness and tell her. Hopefully the girl would be prepared in case her own debt was called in.

**Midnight Gold**

He was the only raven left in the nest, as everyone else had gone home for Christmas, not that he really cared of course. He was used to being alone with only his thoughts for company. It just meant for the next two weeks that he could get on with his own studies, without any distractions from the other students. So he set himself the task of completing his first year studies, and his current second year ones in charms and transfiguration where he was already further ahead than first year material.

This break so far was already turning out to be much better than the previous ones, as he didn't have to cook or clean for his detestable relatives. So what if he didn't have his friends around him; at least this time he could do his own things without interruption or having to hide away out of sight whenever his uncle had work guests over for the holidays. He didn't have to watch the world celebrate Christmas, whilst he was forced to watch, but not participate. So yes, this Christmas was already better than all the previous ones in his short life combined. That might be a sad testament, but true, nonetheless.

The next couple of days flew by for Harry, locked away in Ravenclaw tower away from everyone. In fact, he only came down for meals, but often skipped lunch due to being too caught up in his chosen studies to notice the time. Whether that was reading a fascinating new book he had discovered that morning in the library, or practising and learning powerful and useful spells and enchantments, the time just flew by. Not that it really mattered, his body and magic had long ago gotten used to having to make do with maybe two meals a day, if he was lucky that is.

A Hogwarts meal was more like a feast than a normal dinner anyway. Plus it helped that he had his own fruit bowl conveniently located in his room if he got hungry, which he stocked up each morning with a nice selection of fresh fruit served at breakfast. He tried to keep a proportional mix of apples, bananas, oranges, and grapes in his fruit bowl; so in many ways he felt like he was living like the kings of old in his personal opinion. But there was a very good reason for this; he desired to be healthy, to reach the optimum state his body was capable of, for his body to be healed from his childhood of near starvation and untreated injuries. The extensive daily potion regime couldn't do that alone, it required a good diet and plenty of fuel to work with. Plus he saw several of his year mates getting a bit chubby from the frequent rich foods, that kept him eating healthy quite well.

So here he was, reading his mother's journal, and he had just gotten to the point where his mother was about to start her 6th year at Hogwarts. Incidentally, it was also the time that his father had taken it upon himself to try courting his mother in earnest, much to his mother's amusement at his father's over-the-top gestures. In hindsight, he was glad that he had decided to read through the journal from the beginning; it gave a tremendous insight into who his mother was and how she had changed and grown up over time. He took great joy in reading about how she grew up, from being a 5 year old with bad handwriting to the elegant script of a late teen, to reading about his mother's first crush. These little things helped him connect with her on a deeply personal level, to reaffirm that she was a real person with true flaws, hopes and dreams, not just a name or an over-idealized caricature of motherhood created by a love starved orphan, hated and abused by his relatives.

It truly made his heart ache painfully, that he would only ever learn about his parents from secondary accounts and retellings. Consequently, it fed his anger at what had been so cruelly taken from him, what he had lost the night he had been orphaned. That was one thing he came to realize whilst reading the journal; he had inherited his temper from his mother. His father would just prank his target, consider the matter closed and then move on, until something angered him again causing him to prank them once more. His mother, on the other hand, kept that fire burning, until it struck like a righteous firestorm on anyone unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end.

Thinking of revenge, he couldn't help but devise some cruel schemes to finally get back at his relatives. He thought about everything his relatives loved and how he could use those things to get back at them, like they had done to him so many times before. They loved to appear normal and they loved their money.

He could go to child services this summer and explain everything that had happened to him growing up, but that would bring up too many questions that he just couldn't answer. He could go to the Ministry instead, but he had no desire for his story to be on the front page of the newspapers, both magical and non-magical. He could see how easily it could be corrupted to serve the pureblood propaganda; the last thing he wanted to do was give the people responsible for his parents' death seemingly legitimate grounds for their prejudice.

He couldn't bankrupt them either, despite how much he wanted to see them broke and living on the streets, so that meant he had to get creative and hopefully magic would provide the answer for the perfect revenge.

They liked their food, maybe he could prank it to change to ash or something else undesirable once in their mouths. After all they could do with some lost weight, they reminded him of starving pigs with the amount they ate. Then again he could actually transfigure them _into_ pigs in the future and dump them on a farm, so that they could live in their own filth for the rest of their lives. That would get them; his aunt was a clean freak, and they would eventually be lead to the slaughter house.

After all, they had almost killed him on a number of occasions growing up; it was only his magic that kept him alive. It seemed quite fair to return the gesture at least once just for good measure. But the problem with advanced transfiguration like that was that it wore off if done improperly, plus he felt sorry for whoever eventually ended up with the end product, so that idea was dismissed.

He also liked the idea of getting some much needed payback on Aunt Marge and her dog for all her hateful comments about his mother. Perhaps he could transfigure her into a dog and show her who the real bitch was. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of then dumping his Aunt into an animal shelter; the many handlers making comments about her being an ugly, fat example of the breed that no one would adopt and would eventually need to be put down.

Such ideas sounded quite good to him. He might even get some money from their life insurance if he was the only remaining family after they disappeared mysteriously and were then declared dead. But the problem he faced was that while all these plots were amusing to him and appealing on several levels, they weren't really fair or balanced. He wanted them to at least have a chance at survival, just like he had. If they were tough enough and wanted to live badly enough, they would.

So maybe he should just drop them off somewhere, like in the middle of a desert, and leave it to fate to decide? He dismissed the desert idea moments later, since it was too harsh of an environment to survive in without advanced training and knowledge. They would die in less than a day from heat stroke alone.

So maybe a jungle then? Jungles had plenty of food and water; you just had to know how to get it. And there was an equal chance of them dying from their own stupidity or laziness. He liked that idea more and more, it seemed more fair, more up to fate to decide, rather than his own doing... he would just have to arrange the transport... maybe he could get an untraceable goblin-made portkey to drop them off in the middle of the Amazon rainforest? It wouldn't even be all that expensive.

And if they died there no one would likely find their remains; they would just be another set of missing persons. No one would look on the other side of the world, and magicals wouldn't get involved in a non-magical investigation. All in all it sounded more and more like a great idea. Their fate would be up to them to decide. If they gave up, they would die; if they chose to fight for their lives with every fibre of their beings, they may yet live to see England again. It seemed balanced in his eyes, and after hearing about magic always seeking a balance, it seemed fair for the most part. They would have the same chance to survive as he once did, except they would have the benefit of being adults capable of defending themselves.

It would just take time, a little money, and a bit of help from Bloodmoon, and he could finally cut all ties with his previous family. He supposed he could always just take the more straightforward option and hire an assassin to do the deed, but as far as he was concerned it was a personal matter. It was only fair that he was intimately involved in this. They had stolen his childhood and nearly his life on many different occasions; it was only fair that he paid back the gesture with interest.

**Christmas Day**

He woke up late on Christmas day having enjoyed a simply but wonderful lie in, after having pushed himself the night before to the max. It felt good to have had such a normal night of sleep, and not have felt restless.

The nest looked amazing covered in elaborate decorations, with a small tree in the corner of the room with several presents underneath it. It was only a handful of gifts all told, but that was all he really needed since frankly he had never been given one before anyways. It was a shame that his new friends weren't here; maybe next year he could spend the holidays with them at one of their homes. That was a novel idea.

He got the standard amount of mixed candies, with quite a few chocolate frogs present. It seemed his friends knew of his newly found addiction to them.

He got mainly books after that. He received one from Daphne called _'Magical Plants and Herbs and their Cultivation.'_ Tracy gave him something similar, but that one was specifically about native British magical plant life. If he had to guess they had likely both bought them at the same time.

Padma ended up giving him his own magical chess set in a classical medieval theme, along with more sweets. Penny had gotten him a series of enchanted magical notepads that he could use for subject notes, rather than using a single pad for his extra notes.

Rather surprisingly he received a charms textbook from his head of house. From what he could make of it at first glance it was actually an older edition of the standard charms textbook used today, but an edition first published back at the turn of century before the introduction of the modern education policy. Taking a quick look through it, it seemed to contain some of the more powerful lower-year charms that were more difficult to cast or had simply been forgotten by newer publishers.

But forgotten charms had their uses in his mind, after all if people didn't recognise the spell, how could they properly defend against it? They would have to assume the worst and put more energy than necessary into a general purpose shield, rather than use a specialized shield designed to counter that type of spell.

Tonks hadn't gotten him anything for Christmas, but that wasn't much of a surprise. He still sent her a wand holster he had managed to order at the last minute, since he noticed she didn't have one from their training sessions. He expected she would send him something in the end, after feeling guilty, 'claiming' it got misplaced or the owl wasn't capable of carrying it.

Not that he would care much if she didn't send him anything; he had done it on the off-chance that she had gotten him something. Plus he wanted to keep her pleased with their arrangement and relationship, so that their practical defense training would continue. It was far better for the girl to like him and therefore put more effort into their training, rather than just doing it for the money.

Making his way down for the Christmas lunch, there were only eight students and one teacher present, just proving how many went home during Christmas break. Most were older years and he was the only raven and the only first year left in the school.

Professor Sprout was leading the meal; it was actually enjoyable having a friendly chat with everyone, although nothing terribly special, just polite conversation really. Regardless it was a ridiculous improvement to being with his relatives, where he spent most of the day being their cook, then their dinner waiter, then the cleaner, all the while being threatened and maybe being allowed to eat the tiny bit of leftovers, if there were any left that is.

Professor Sprout took a keen interest in talking to him trying to make him feel welcome and letting him know that he could spend time with some of her Puffs that had stayed over break. He politely declined, saying that he was fine, and that he making a lot of progress in his independent studies without any of the distractions of his house mates.

This of course lead to her questioning him and him in turn explaining how he wanted to complete most of the second year material in charms and transfiguration. This then lead to a round of questions from the upper years about his ambitious goal, and Harry having to explain to them than the power levels required to successfully cast first and second year spells was actually about the same, the second year spells just requiring additional focus and control, not power to cast.

He further explained that it was only 3rd year and above spells that required higher power levels to cast, since the first two years of the Hogwarts curriculum were aimed at encouraging the growth and control of one's magic. Like a baby first learning to walk, you had to start slow before you could run. Simply put, magic was like a muscle. If you overdid it, through constant use, and not allowing it to mature and expand naturally, you could damage it permanently, just like how not letting a muscle heal properly after an injury or intense exercise could lead to it being deformed or damaged, he lectured.

Professor Sprout just nodded in agreement at his explanation and gave him 20 points for his excellent knowledge.

So that was his first Christmas Day at Hogwarts. It was far better than any other he had had in his life.

So now he was staring out of his window in reflection, thinking about how much his life had changed since he had found out that he was a wizard; going from rags to riches, from friendless to friends, going from being controlled to being _in_ control, to a point. It was so much better than he had imagined it would be.

It was almost like a dream come true being in a magical castle lazily watching snow gently falling on its expansive grounds. It was hard to believe his life had changed so completely. He then opened the window to feel the wind on his face; the contrast of the quite warm common room to the brisk and refreshing winter air was delightful, since the common rooms were kept very warm by default. The temperatures in the professors' classrooms were chosen by them. Snape's potion classroom, for instance, was more like a freezer, just like most of the corridors, but that was nothing that a basic heating charm couldn't fix; it was more of an annoyance really since the charms kept fading fast, since they were only first and second year versions.

One thing he noticed while looking over the grounds was a beautiful snow white owl, with silver wing tips. He didn't know what type of owl it was, but it was indeed a beautiful sight to see flying around the grounds.

He just kept watching it slowly circle in the air, riding the wind currents. He had the feeling that the owl had seen him, since owls had superior vision; both of them seemingly just watching the scene below them unfold.

Over the next couple of nights he often watched the owl circling around, and the owl in turn seemed to watch him. One night he even put out some owl snacks and water. From a bit of reading he had done, he determined that it was a Luna Owl or Moon Owl. It was pretty much like any other owl, just was smarter, and had a sixth scene, that couldn't be described properly by the author.

The reason why they were call Luna or Moon Owls was because their eggs only hatched on full moons, and their feathers had magical properties, glowing in unearthly silver tones during the full moons. They primarily nested in cool environments since their eggs didn't require heat like their non-magical counterparts.

Simply put, it was a rare magical bird that had a connection with winter and the cycles of the moon.

Standing outside the 3rd floor corridor, he slowly and carefully set up the charged rune stones to temporarily disable the door's alarm ward and allow him to gain access unnoticed. He put in more energy than was strictly needed; he was forced to experiment at random with the power required to ensure he had access before he was committed. After all, if he didn't put in enough power there was a chance that he would fail to disrupt the ward and the Headmaster would be warned and come running like before. Too much was energy wasted though, and who knew what else was down there waiting for him.

Once again the Cerberus eyed the door seemingly opening on its own, but made no move to counter him, since Harry had taken measures to ensure his stealth using a combination of basic charms he'd learned to go on his night time adventures around the school. They were all simple in execution, but made an effective combination when used together.

Carefully he threw a large steak he'd gotten from the kitchens imbued with three doses of the Draught of Living Death across the floor towards Fluffy, betting that if this Cerberus was anything like its cousins described in the magical creature books, it would have an unnatural hunger to feed, and therefore would investigate the steak and eat it like any other food source.

Fortune favoured him and after a few moments of sniffing the three-headed dog did what it did naturally and ate the steak whole with a minimum of chewing.

Several minutes passed before the dog fell to light snoring, confirming his guess that three full doses in the steak would be enough. The dog wasn't exactly in a near-death state, like a human would be, but he figured that since the potion was designed for use on humans, this was the best that he could hope for. He used a simple levitation charm to remove its huge paw from the trapdoor, before charging the same rune stones in case this door was also warded. Opening the trapdoor revealed a straight drop into near total darkness. Casting a simple _lumos charm _revealed a massive plant at the bottom, which looked similar to the devil's snare that they had covered in first year herbology lessons recently... it was awfully convenient he thought.

Checking the back of the trapdoor to see that there were no engraved runes, he made careful note of this for the next time, so as to not waste any unnecessary magical energy. Thinking over everything he'd seen so far, he wondered what the next series of defences would be.

Considering everything had been so simple, surely there would be more dangerous plants in place that weren't common knowledge or taught in school. Besides, he knew he could counter the plant below with a simple charm aimed at producing light and heat. He cast a bluebell flame down at the plant to see it slink away from the temporary flame, confirming that his theory was correct.

If he dropped down the shaft now he would have to find a way to get back up again. A full grown wizard could just float themselves down and then up again using the levitation charm without much difficulty, but he doubted _he_ would have the magical strength yet to do two trips, as well as overcome other possible defences. The very last thing he wanted to do was get stuck down there.

So the best and smartest thing he could do was retreat and regroup and next time bring a means to get back up. Maybe he could borrow a broomstick from the school training equipment he thought before closing the trapdoor and casting a locking charm on it.

He then carefully recharged the rune stones to open the door in order to get back out without setting off the alarm ward and then recast the simple locking charm on the outer door.

He then carefully made his way back to the nest; it was pretty easy since the school was all but empty during Christmas break with no caretaker to dodge, no prefects to avoid, and no teachers walking about, it was near effortless.

As soon as he was back in his room, he brought out one of the notepads he'd gotten for Christmas. He could just rely on his Occlumency skills and his ability to recall things with perfect clarity, but at times like this you could still miss little bits and how they all fit together. Sometimes it was quicker just to have what you needed written down, plus it allows you to air thoughts and develop them. Like many things he had realized that while the mind arts gave the practitioner a wonderful memory, you still needed to be able to remember what memory you needed to recall, and like everything nothing was perfect.

He noted down each trap encountered carefully and his own countermeasures.

_Locked door + alarm wards = Runestones + unlocking charm_

_Cerberus = guard dog protecting trapdoor + standard locking charm – No wards = sleeping potion, steak with 3 doses of draught of death + unlocking charm_

_Devil's snare + steep drop = bluebell charm + possibly broomstick?_

Looking over his careful notes, he couldn't help but think he had missed something important, before remembering his observation about the devil's snare.

Making the notes

_Devil's snare easy to overcome with just first year knowledge; surely rarer, more obscure dangerous plants available for defence? Surely the headmaster would consult with Professor Sprout on dangerous plant life that could be used effectively for defences?_

It all just seemed _too easy_... after all, whatever was being guarded on the 3rd floor had to be very valuable, but at the same time the defences were rather easy to overcome if a first year could do it. So that meant either it was a trap of some kind, or a test for another first year to overcome. The only thing that was not a part of first year knowledge were the wards themselves, and since they were only keyed to alert someone when entrance was gained, rather than killing or injuring the intruders, he was leaning towards a test of some sort.

If he had to guess the defences were designed so that students who had decided not to listen to the headmaster's warning would not be outright killed before the headmaster or staff could intervene, but at the same time slow down a real thief or dark wizard long enough for the staff to rally and confront the intruder.

Still, it was an interesting idea, and he wouldn't know for sure until he got further into the defences; the first ones may have been designed to be deceptively simple before the main ones were encountered. If it was a test, however, the question was who was being tested? He could only think of one candidate that anyone would be interested in testing: Neville Longbottom, the Boy-Who-Lived.

**New Year's Eve**

He floated his way down the shaft on the borrowed broomstick; it had been easy to grab without being noticed. The devil's snare was once again overcome with a simple first-year fire spell before he reached the bottom.

Taking in the next room visually, he saw a door, a broomstick, and hundreds of flying keys. Before even trying to catch the keys like they obviously intended, he tried the standard unlocking charm and his charged rune stones, both of which failed to open the door.

Looking at the broomstick provided, it was obvious one had to catch the right key for the door. He also noted for next time (if that proved necessary) that he wouldn't have to steal a broom. He could probably fly out on the broom provided he thought, before deciding to get on with it.

After several minutes flying around and dodging keys, he noticed one that was rusted like the door handle, which resulted in him chasing it down like a hungry wolf chasing a deer. Eventually he caught the key.

Putting the key into the lock, as well as charging the rune stones, he opened the door to once again reveal that the door did not have an alarm ward on it, but it did have other symbols and runes different to the ones on the first door. He quickly fled back down the corridor towards the devil's snare only to realize that no response was coming; the ward on the door obviously wasn't a detection one.

Deciding to copy it down so that he could try to find out what it did later, he brought out his notepad to record the next series of defences as well as the runes on the door. He carefully copied the patterns engraved onto the wood before refocusing on the room. Once he figured out what it did, who knew when it might come in handy.

Taking in the room he saw a giant magical chess set; obviously the purpose of this task was to 'play' the game and win. Since there was a horse without the knight, this was the place he was meant to take.

Deciding to look around the room in case there was a faster option, he started making his way across the floor, making towards the black side of the board just for the pawns to draw swords on him and block his path. Thinking everything over, they obviously couldn't see him, they couldn't smell or hear him either, so how did they detect him?

Taking a step back resulted in them sheathing their swords, taking a step forward again resulted in them drawing swords. Looking down at the floor to see the black and white squares, he realized that the floor itself was charmed and that was how they detected his position and movements.

He then tried flying over using the broom he had taken, just for the pieces to swap swords for bows and arrows before tracking him actively, confirming that he couldn't just fly over. He concluded there must be another charm in effect to detect a person in flight, so he obviously had to play the game to get by. The fact that the animated golems could adapt to a changing situation proved that this was an impressive piece of magic.

He made his way over to the starting place, and took his place a top the knight. Since he was obviously in danger from the other pieces, he decided to take a slow, careful approach to the game.

After a bit of playing, he came to realize just how different playing against a charmed set was versus a live opponent. The charmed set followed set rules, its main objective was either to destroy him, or check his king. This made sense since if he was destroyed, the defences would hold; he would certainly be injured too after seeing how the other pieces were destroyed, and that would also lower his chances of breaching the defences.

Against a human player you played against the person, and each person had their favourite pieces, their own styles of play, favoured patterns and strategies, etc. Like Padma's aggressive use of the knight, for instance. You played the player, while the charmed set played the same against everyone, and instead operated on numbers and logic. Simply put, it decided what to risk and lose based on numbers and pre-determined values of the pieces at risk, making it, to a point, predictable. It used logic alone to dictate its moves; when two of its pieces were simultaneously at risk it always sacrificed the one with the lowest point value or was the most protected.

Using these predictable rules he often moved his knight into position to act as bait, to expose the black set to attack while withdrawing himself as soon as he was in danger.

He was grateful for all the times he played Padma now as it was proving very useful. Slowly and surely he worked his way towards checkmating the black king; it took an hour or so, but in the end he managed to get across the board and do it without injury to himself.

Putting back on his invisibility cloak, he recast the silencing charms on his shoes since they had worn off during the game, before making his way to the next door. He recharged the rune stones again and cast the unlocking charm to open the door.

Upon opening the door, he was hit by an ungodly smell which reminded him of the troll in the bathroom, but somehow stronger. Carefully looking around the room revealed four trolls, however they were all thankfully asleep. He carefully looked over the door to see the same wards that were on the first door. He walked carefully across the room to the next door to avoid doing anything to wake the trolls. He recharged the rune stones again rather than risk another detection ward and then once again cast the unlocking charm to open the door.

Quickly checking the room in case there were any immediate dangers like trolls or another Cerberus inside, he saw no immediate dangers. Checking the back of the door he saw the same detection ward from the door in the third floor corridor. He was grateful he used the rune stones out of an abundance of caution, rather than risking it, otherwise someone would be rushing to him at this very moment.

The room was like a potion lab, to the far end there was a wall of fire blocking the door. Checking out the room to see if any solution was provided, he found a riddle on the desk, next to a series of potions. Some of the potions were wines, some were poisons, one would grant him entrance and the other one would send him back to the start.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud at such a simple test of logic; he'd been solving much harder riddles and puzzles to gain entrance to Ravenclaw tower for months. So while most wizards would have had difficulty, any raven would be able to solve this puzzle with ease.

In less than a minute he solved the puzzle. He checked over his logic a couple of times, though, before committing, and then walked through the fire fearlessly to the final room. The first thing he saw was a strange ornate mirror in the centre of the room.

So if the pattern of all the defences so far held true, the room's puzzle obviously had something to do with the mirror. Looking around the room once again, he saw several rune clusters on the walls, but they were faint, almost invisible to the eye. He'd carefully copied them down the best he could, so he could learn more out about them later. He also saw the same connection runes that were used to link wards to objects at the base of the mirror.

So the room's wards were linked directly to the mirror. Since there was no visible door he assumed that one had to solve the mirror puzzle to reveal the door and move on.

Looking over the mirror, it was odd, it didn't actually show his normal reflection. It showed several different images, sometimes images of his parents standing by him with proud looks directed at him, or an image of himself surrounded by huge piles of earned gold, a couple times his relatives were kneeling before him, heads down as if waiting for his judgment, accepting their fates. So it obviously was not a 'normal mirror.' Stepping away he walked around the mirror to see if there were any hints to its function, before seeing several letters marked upon it with no apparent meaning. It read:

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

He took several minutes looking at and analyzing the letters, trying to decode the message, before once again looking back at the mirror to realize the words were back to front, just like a reflection in a mirror would be. It was so obvious in hindsight that he wanted to hit himself for his own stupidity.

I show not your face but your heart's desire

So that was the purpose of the mirror and why it showed him images of his family and friends, but how did that solve this puzzle? He didn't know how long he remained just sitting there or walking around the mirror in circles, trying to understand what was required of him, or what he was obviously missing, before he yawned for the 100th time.

Casting a quick charm to tell the time, he saw that it was already close to 4 in morning! He had started at 10pm, no wonder he was feeling so tired and so drained right now. He was tempted to call it quits and come back another night with a fresh viewpoint, but he was stubborn. He really wanted to just smash the mirror to pieces.

Once again he looked over the engravings, before an errant thought crossed his mind. Maybe this mirror _is_ the treasure? After all it was quite obviously a powerful magical artefact, and maybe all the traps and wards were designed to protect this mirror.

Who wouldn't want a mirror that showed their heart's desires? Or with the mirror in their possession, learn how this complex and unknown magic even functioned. What magical discoveries could be made with enough research? After all, the Prophet had said that there had been an attempted robbery, but the only item in the vault had been removed earlier that day. Together with the whispering he had heard from the 'golden trio,' it seemed the headmaster himself had been protecting the item from the vault.

Deciding to take the mirror entirely, he tried several charms to lift it, but found that they were totally ineffective. Looking at the runes on the floor, he decided to destroy the runes representing charge/power, these being the ones responsible for powering the wards on the mirror.

Pointing his wand, he fired a simple banishing charm at the power runes; it took several attempts for the charms to actually damage the rune, before repeating it several times on the cluster, before the mirror glowed for a bit before fading.

He cast a shrinking charm on the mirror to aid in moving the thing; it took a lot of power and effort, but eventually he was able to shrink it to the point of being about the size of a dressing table mirror. He then cast a feather light charm on it, before trying to lift it. It was still _plenty_ heavy even with the charm, due to its own natural magics working against the charm's effectiveness.

Slowly making his way back through all the traps, he was grateful to not have to play the chess board again in his fatigued state. He grabbed the broom again and floated his way up, casting a _lumos _to cause the devil's snare to move out of the way, before reaching the top to thankfully find that 'fluffy' was still fast asleep from his the several doses of the draught he had eaten. Since the draught hadn't put the Cerberus into a near death-like state, the potion would eventually wear off without an antidote.

For the final time he charged the rune stones before making his way out of the room, casting a simple locking charm on the door before sleepily making his way back to his dorm room encountering no one on the way. He unlocked his trunk, and placed the mirror in the high security area for later examination, before unceremoniously falling onto his bed still fully dressed.

He was asleep within seconds, with a smug smile gracing his face even in his sleep. He had completed the puzzle, defeated the challenges of the 3rd floor and had taken the mirror as the prize for his efforts. It somehow seemed rather fitting and terribly satisfying to have stolen something from the man who had mismanaged his family's assets, outright robbed from him, and placed him at the Dursleys for a decade of abuse.

If he couldn't get it back through the goblins, something he thought more than likely given how devious Dumbledore was, he would just have to steal bits and pieces from around the school to help level the score, with a hefty amount of interest charged for all the damage and trouble.

What Harry didn't know was that the mirror had a prize far more valuable than he first thought; it had a true philosopher's stone, one of only four in the world sitting in his trunk. And no one would even notice it had been stolen until a day before the new term started.

**Headmaster's Office**

Several objects in the Headmaster's office were currently flashing bright red, these objects having been charmed to monitor the wards guarding the stone.

With each layer of defence broken, the objects glowed brighter, one monitor for Fluffy's health, currently dimmer than normal; the second charmed to monitor the floor below the devil's snare, to flash green whenever someone was in the room; the third monitored the status of the provided broomstick and whether it was being used or had been used.

There was a charmed chess set in the office linked to the giant one of the 3rd floor, sending back feedback, moving each piece in real-time as it moves in the chamber below, showing the game to anyone in the office. The black king's crown currently sat by the king's feet in defeat. The full-sized chess set could also be controlled from the office. However, it was currently set to auto play, rather than player controlled.

Four troll statues were linked to the living trolls, sending back their health status at regular intervals, showing that they were now fast asleep.

Then there was a vial that filled whenever a potion was taken, it was currently filled bright red, after the flame protection potion had been taken to get through the fire wall.

Finally, there was an orb enchanted to show the face of anyone looking directly into the mirror; however with the wards connected to the mirror broken this also was dim, the image faded into nothing, never to reveal the face of the intruder to the headmaster.

There was no one in the office at all. Even the many portraits of the past headmasters and headmistresses were all at their own 'Hogwarts' Portrait New Year's Eve' party so they couldn't warn the headmaster of the danger to the stone either, and by the time they returned to their frames and canvases, the monitoring objects had already stopped glowing from the broken wards, from running out of magic. Even then the portraits finally returned to the office, none of them were in state to notice the broken wards in their hung-over state, from drinking too much the previous night.

The Headmaster himself was currently in Russia attending a New Year's Eve ball, and wouldn't be back until the start of term, while his beloved phoenix was currently going through a burning day and wouldn't flame into the office for several more days at the least.

By the time the headmaster was flamed into his office by a grumpy Fawkes and realized just what had happened, it was already far too late. The thief's magical signature had long since faded due to the currents of magic throughout the school. What was even more shocking and unexpected to the headmaster was that the mirror itself had been stolen, as well the stone; he couldn't help but panic at that point. 'What kind of _diabolical genius_ would think to take the whole damn mirror and thus have the time to get the stone out at their leisure?' he thought.

The mirror had been borrowed from an old friend and now he would have to explain how that was taken, as well as explaining to Nicholas and Perenelle how their stone had been stolen in the first place. He didn't look forward to either conversation, unless he lied and said that both were destroyed at the same time. After all, he had intended to fake the stone's destruction at the end of the year anyways. Deciding to check on his prime suspect, he immediately dispatched Fawkes with hurried orders to retrieve his subordinate, Nathan Harris, who he had personally assigned the task of tracking Quirrell's movements over the Christmas break.

Nathan Harris appeared soon after in a blaze of flames, the Order member quickly reporting that Quirrell was still overseas and hadn't actually been in Britain since the day he left Hogwarts for the holiday break. Now they had to come up with a new plan, as well as find their lost mirror and its precious cargo.

Albus couldn't help but curse the bad fortune of having gone to Russia and leaving Hogwarts. He also cursed having drunk too much of the delicious Russian vodka, which had dulled his senses so thoroughly he didn't even notice when his ward necklace had grown warm warning him of the wards being broken and that there was an intruder. The resulting hangover the next day didn't help either.

From now on all New Year's Eve parties he was forced to attend would be hosted in Britain. He wouldn't make the same mistake again. He also wouldn't try native drinks ever again; it made their firewhiskey look like apple juice.

**End of Chapter**


	13. Y1 Set Backs and Terms

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M for mature themes.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord** – **Chapter: 13**

**Setbacks and Terms**

**Reposted 20th May 2013**

**Revised and Beta'd by Joe Lawyer**

Looking around the empty chamber, he couldn't help but silently curse at his own misfortune and ridiculously bad timing. Both the Philosopher's Stone and the Mirror of Erised had been stolen right out from under his most vigilant watch, and now all of his plans were forced to change to take into account this latest setback. In hindsight it was his own fault for leaving the stone in the care of others, whilst he was out of the country on_ important_ international business. Now that he thought about it, it _would _have been far safer just to carry the damn stone on his person in one of his many pockets lining his vibrant and colourful robes, since no thief would have dared try to pickpocket him.

Shaking his head once again at his own stupidity, he silently examined the empty chamber once again, looking for any possible leads that he could use to identify and locate the thief and thereby solve all of his current problems, and then promptly ask them how they did it.

But nothing turned up; lady luck was just not on his side today it appeared. Originally, his plans involved using the Mirror of Erised supported by a series of ward schemes designed to leach away at Tom's magical energies. This would result in returning the Dark Lord to being nothing more than a whisper, an echo of his former self, thus allowing for him to be captured by several complex and highly specialized ward schemes meant for spirits and other phantasms.

Tom could then be examined, studied, and questioned until they learned exactly how Tom had managed to cheat death all those years ago on that fateful Halloween. If, somehow, Tom regained his strength and power in his confinement and a successful escape became possible, they could simply reactivate the wards and drain him of his strength until he was once again nothing more than a whisper... it would simply be a matter of repetition after that. Once they learned his chosen method of immortality they could remove or counter whatever abomination of magic Tom had woven. After all, there were dozens of different rituals and measures that one could use to keep from dying. It always came down to personal choice and what one was willing to ultimately sacrifice to prolong one's life and stymie time itself.

The Philosopher's Stone itself actually offered continuous life, but it had to be drunk monthly and came at the price of having any further children, something Nicholas and Penelope found out the hard way after they first started taking the life giving liquid. That was one of their most major regrets in their long lives, he knew, the inability to have a child of their own, whilst fearing that any child that they might adopt would eventually betray them for the stone... like several of their friends had done over their astoundingly long lives.

Even when taken monthly, it only brought good health and a youthful body, not actual protection from any physical harm or death itself, just protection from the ravages of time. If failed to be taken every 28 days, the individual would suffer the effects of all the time they'd been taking the elixir, compressed into a few hours. It also offered the prospect of unlimited wealth in the form of gold, which made it even more attractive and useful to would be thieves, something that most people would desire, much less a Dark Lord. In other words, it was _the_ ideal bait.

If Tom somehow managed to escape capture, he would have to spend another half a decade regaining his magical strength before he would have the strength necessary to once again take another human host without the outside assistance of one of his remaining faithful followers. But he doubted Tom would risk contacting his own followers, just in case they betrayed him in an attempt to seize power for themselves from the _weakened_ dark lord.

He seriously doubted Lucius, for example, would help his fallen master in his current condition; since Tom's unexpected fall Lucius had only gained more power, to the point that he had replaced his master, yet kept a respectable image. If anything, Lucius would discreetly seek a means to remove Tom from the world permanently, just like any respectable dark wizard rival would, since Lucius would never be able take on his master directly and at full power.

This quite reasonable fear of betrayal would give the light more time to prepare; it was natural for ones who used betrayal as a weapon to fear it being used against them as well. Tom was no exception to this... and neither of them would be willing to share power.

Naturally, betrayals could happen to anyone, he had suffered from several betrayals himself over the course of his long life, some personal, and even more political. Unfortunately, he could not claim innocence in that matter either. If he was right, like he normally was, then Tom wouldn't risk contacting any of his Death Eaters for help, just in case one of them decided to take advantage of his weakened state and betray him. Plus, Tom was a natural loner, preferring to rely only on himself for everything, and would only involve another as a last resort, once again confirming his belief that Tom wouldn't contact his followers in his _current_ condition.

This fortunately gave him more time to prepare and train young Neville for their inevitable battle. The trap also had the secondary purpose of testing young Neville and the prophecy itself by forcing an early confrontation, via helping to subtly direct both Voldemort and Neville onto a collision course with one another. This had the benefit of directing the prophecy on the course he desired, under strictly controlled circumstances, rather than being left to chance. He had originally planned to use the cloak of invisibility, that he had _borrowed_ from the Potters, to follow behind Neville to monitor the meeting and to intervene if necessary. Unfortunately, he had to give the highly magical cloak back prematurely; he was actually hoping to hold on to the heirloom permanently if he could get away with it, but the goblins had stopped him.

It wasn't the first time one of his carefully engineered plans had been ruined by the untimely intervention or interference of those crafty goblins, nor did he doubt it would be the last. At least now he had a spy within their ranks, even if the spy was still rather lowly placed for information gathering of any significant value; hopefully they would prove to be a good long-term investment that would pay handsomely in time. His spy would slowly work their way up the ranks and ever closer to more valuable and useful information.

So now he was forced to place a fake stone under numerous heavy wards. The stone was cleverly charmed to leach away at the next person who tried to handle it, just like the mirror had been intended to do, before it had been stolen. This alternative method was certainly less effective than the Mirror of Erised, but with the rest of the wards supporting it, they would work to undermine Tom's magical energy and dampen his magical ability. The stone was also permanently enchanted so that it couldn't leave the room, trapping his target without a means of escape, whilst the wards ate away at his strength.

Of course, this time, he put an additional trap hidden within the stone's makeup itself; any supposed 'elixir' made from this stone would be highly poisonous and destructive. In addition he made sure that all the rune clusters were reinforced and were otherwise invisible to the naked eye, as well as undetectable by all but the most powerful and specialized detection charms. Even a cursebreaker of uncommon skill and experience would be hard pressed to find these runes.

In short, he had corrected his mistakes and vastly improved his original plan, while also adding additional layers of wards over the whole trap.

He also gave a series of strict orders to the portraits in his office, specifically that at least one of them had to be present in their office frames at all times of the day, until he said otherwise. Now he had at least one pair of eyes on his monitors at all times, watching them carefully for any disturbance or sign of intrusion.

He soon had a meeting with Ron Weasley to get to; he had to teach the boy some new chess moves whilst receiving Ron's Christmas report on Neville's recent activities. He just hoped that by the end of Ron's report that he had some lemon drops left! It seemed that young Ron was taken with the delicious confection as much as he was and that was saying something. He made a mental note to order the house elves to restock his already considerable supply; he had a feeling that by the end of the next meeting he would be running dangerously low again.

**Midnight Gold**

As much as he loved the freedom and uninterrupted time to delve into his many projects Christmas break offered, it was nice to have his friends around him once again. He would never openly admit it, but they had grown on him, and he had actually missed them over the Christmas break. Of course, the first thing Padma had asked him upon her return to the school was the purpose of the book he had given her on meditation techniques. He had brushed it aside with a simple, 'I'll explain later,' rather than have a lengthy question and answer session in the Great Hall about the mind arts, while the whole school could potentially hear... it would not be an advantage if everyone knew it after all. Although he did fully intend to require all future Potter/Blacks and high level managers in his various businesses to learn the discipline as it would prove a boon to them throughout their lives.

Inevitably, they ending up playing a game of chess using his new medieval style chess set he had received from her for a Christmas gift, which was quickly becoming a cherished object for several reasons. First, it was from Padma and was also the first present he had ever received in his life; it also served as a constant reminder that he had bested the 3rd floor and had taken the enchanted magical mirror for himself.

Life had pretty much fallen back into a normal routine after that. Tonks had given him a present in the end, like he had predicted. It was another book, much to his own amusement, 'Will I always be getting books?' he mentally asked himself, wondering if it was because he was a Ravenclaw? So therefore everyone assumed that he was a bookworm? Nevertheless the book actually _was_ rather interesting and frankly an excellent addition to his reading material, so he couldn't fault her a bit. The book was on basic hexes, and jinxes.

Thinking back to his Christmas adventure during his nightly reflection, the traps around the mirror seemed to have been designed primarily as a test, the only measure of challenge being the wards, but even those were easily overcome. After all, he had successfully found a means to bypass them after only spending a few days and nights going through the wards and runes section of the library. Unsurprisingly, he was unable to identify most of the runes present in the wards, in fact he only recognised a few of them, such as the commonly used power runes in this part of the world. But the rest he couldn't identify at all, simply due to the school not teaching that language of rune script, thus references weren't available in the library. Only Celtic, Egyptian and some Nordic runes were taught in the school.

If he got the chance, he would look up all the runes he carefully recorded on his notepad during his little adventure and hopefully someday be able to not only understand them, but use them himself. That said, there were at least six different Celtic rune scripts based on the different areas of Europe and the relevant time period that they were created in. Obviously, most of them were extremely similar with just a few minor differences, like most oral languages derived from the same dominant culture. Any other rune scripts weren't learnt until seventh year, or had to be learned entirely independently, since Hogwarts' primary focus was on northern European derived runes, with Egyptian being the only exception. It was commonly believed they were the first magical civilization to use them for warding and were the ancestral script to most Middle Eastern rune designs. It also helped that the goblins wanted cursebreakers and warders knowledgeable in Egyptian runes, for their own business ventures in Egypt. Any cursebreaker or runemaster of sufficient skill quickly realized that knowing more runic languages was better. Some runic languages were, for reasons unknown, much better suited to accomplish certain functions. The best ward and rune masters were able to mix and match at will, to create dynamic, efficient, and difficult to break rune schemes, even though that would often result in explosive results for anyone else.

The night had also allowed him to acquire an obviously ancient and powerful enchanted mirror. It could prove to be a valuable and useful tool in many ways. If he developed his skills in legilimency enough to the point that he could see into a person's mind whilst they stood in front of it, he could find out a person's greatest and most secret desires. If he could do this without them seeing the image themselves, or even being aware of what was actually happening, even better. Armed with that intimate knowledge he could work towards helping them achieve their goals and thereby earning their absolute loyalty. If one desire was met, he could just repeat the cycle. There was _always_ something new to want and desire. The inverse was also true, he would know exactly what to deny them or work against if he wanted to... He would know both the ultimate carrot and stick for that specific person to motivate or hold over them.

He could see it in his mind's eye, a person flooing into his immaculate manor home, a seemingly beautiful decorative mirror on the wall opposite the fireplace, carefully modified to avoid anyone recognizing it...maybe wards to prevent anyone sensing the magical emanations or to actually see what the mirror created in response to their revealed desires...the position opposite the floo would practically force the person to look into it. 'Maybe a minor compulsion to force them to look as well? Perhaps instead of legillimency the output could be recorded somehow and reviewed later?' So many plans...

Howeverone thing he did notice when everyone returned was that one Hermione Granger was eyeing him warily, and appeared to be reading the same books he had been reviewing before Christmas break; it made him wonder whether she realized that a possible life debt might be owed to him or Neville. It was possible after all; he doubted that she was looking at magical debts just for the sake of intellectual curiosity, not with the way she was eying him now. Most likely Penny had discreetly warned her about the possibility. He wondered how that would play out; he would have to think it over in more detail, but he would wait and see what happened for now. Nevertheless he couldn't help but notice that Hermione was ideally placed to keep an eye on the boy-who-lived. He still decided to wait and see how it all played out, after all, there was no guarantee that their friendship would last.

Besides he had other, more pressing issues to worry about. The first was his upcoming exams at the end of the school year. The second was dealing with the nosy potion master. Susan's aunt's reply had basically said, in short, that he would need _overwhelming_ evidence if he wanted to get to a court hearing, much less a conviction. Simply put, it was all too easy to get buried in the political system and for any chance of success it would need the backing of another major political powerbroker with enough respect and influence to take up the cause themselves. That wasn't going to happen any time soon in his current situation.

That meant that he had to do everything possible to strengthen his own mental defences and avoid the greasy-haired bastard as much as possible. He also needed to get himself set up for the summer, since he didn't have his own home yet; sure, he could rent a room in the alley, but that would raise questions and draw unwanted attention. The easiest solution would be to instruct Bloodmoon to find a suitable location. Hopefully somewhere in the countryside, nice and quiet, out of the way, where he could get on with his summer without being disturbed too much.

He could also visit his friends to keep himself busy. He was sure he could visit Padma often, and possibly Daphne and Tracy too, maybe even Penny as well in the muggle world.

**Ravenclaw Common Room**

"Hey Padma, did you ever get around to having a talk with your sister?" Harry asked, referring back to how Padma had felt her sister was ignoring her the pervious term in favour of her new friends.

"We talked a lot, but it was _so_ different Harry. Before there were only minor differences, but now it's totally different. Both of us have totally different friends. Parvati is even more interested in fashion than she was before, whilst I've grown more mature as my parents would say, with how I'm focussed on my studies... It's unnerving to be honest," she replied carefully.

"Yeah, I can only imagine that it would be," he agreed. "To live so closely, but to have such different lives and perspectives about the same events," he voiced. Thinking over everything Padma had said, he decided to try to help his friend as much as he could, even if it caused him some discomfort in the short-term. "Maybe in charms from now on you should sit with Pav and her friends, or ask her to sit with us and take turns. I'm sure our head of house would see no issue with it," he offered. "You can always sit next her too; I can always help you after class if need be," he said, remembering how the lions often treated her like an outsider. Maybe that action would help them bridge that gap?

"Ok. I will have to talk to her about it to see if she's ok with it. Will you be fine without me?" She asked, referring to how he often used her as a shield to keep away their more annoying classmates, who only wanted to leach off his hard work and ability.

He waved her concerns away with a causal flick of his hand. "I'll be fine, just as long as _you _are ok. I'll just have to ignore them. It's only for the lessons we have with the grifs anyways, so it won't matter too much. Besides, you could always send Lavender over to sit next to me, I'm sure I'll be able to handle her for one lesson or two and her being there will scare everyone else way," he replied with a smile. "Besides, I _desperately_ have talk to her about next season's fashion trends. It's always nice to know what the next big thing is," offering her an easy smile and an outrageous wink.

Padma couldn't help but laugh at his explanation and the thought of him and Lavender talking seriously about fashion. When her laughing subsided, she responded, "Yeah, I can just see it now. It's a shame that we don't have a general purpose common room where all the houses can meet, at least that way we could all hang out together. We're so isolated by the houses."

"There probably was one when the founders first created the school and the house system. Or some type of neutral ground at least. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point a headmaster or headmistress thought that it wasn't needed anymore and had it removed after the houses became so insular," he mused. "It probably occurred due to a series of events building up from the start of the Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry from the founders themselves," he said sagely, seeing that he still had Padma's attention, before carrying on with his nascent theory. "Then probably at some point a Pureblood elitist thought of it as a means to further separate the 'elite', i.e. Purebloods, away from the commoners, i.e. first generation magicals, due to politics and personal beliefs. After all Slytherin is the only house that does not accept them at all, whilst the puffs and lions receive most of them." Once again elaborating on a theory he was working on to pass the time.

"_First generation magicals_... that's a new one," she said in an inquiring tone, raising an eyebrow at this new term.

He smiled mischievously as he answered, "Yeah, it is. I just thought saying 'muggleborn' sounded disrespectful, especially with my mother being one and having Penny as a good friend." He answered, looking over to see Padma nod in agreement, accepting the explanation before asking his own question. "Do you know where the term 'muggleborn' comes from?"

She blushed slightly at her ignorance of such a commonly used term, "No, I don't. I suppose I just never thought about it. Just accepted it, like everyone else did," offering her joint explanation slash excuse to why she had never thought much about it.

"The only reason I know is that my mother looked into its etymology," he admitted, before continuing on. "Simply put, back in the founders' day, when first generation magicals entered magical society, most of them lived in very primitive conditions such as mud-huts and other unclean environments. Hence they were dirty, unclean, even unable to read or write in most cases, whilst wizards, due to our spells, runes and enchantments, were relatively clean and much better educated as a whole." Stopping to check that she was still following, he continued his explanation. "Another theory for its origins was that druids considered these new magical to possess new, fresh, fertile blood. Mud was fertile for growing crops, so the term became mud-bloods, or fertile blood. Much more positive connotations in that regard, especially in the context of an agrarian society. Naturally, due to the passage of time, not many are aware of this the term's original meaning anymore. It's just been forgotten and its meaning changed over time to become what it is today." he lectured, rather enjoying himself.

"You have to remember that this was when Hogwarts was first founded, and society as a whole was built on a strict class system, and arguably still is. Historically magical families were stronger due to their blood containing magical inheritances from their ancestors, giving them traits and abilities due to their cumulative ancestry, hence the root of the pureblood ideology. Most wizards and witches just saw them as an underclass in the pecking order, a commoner to them, whilst individuals like yourself would be considered nobility of the highest order, due to your education, magical strength, and long history of magic in your family," he stated, putting down his book carefully, before continuing. "Remember at this time society was ruled by power, both in terms of your own individual abilities as well as your family's prowess, but also your allies and the various followers you had in your service. Order was kept by the Wand, by might, not by the law."

Waiting to see Padma nod, he continued on, "Therefore, due to their blood being considered weak from not having any inherited abilities or traits, as well as being filthy, dirty and uneducated when they entered the wizarding world, the terms, like muggleborn, or insults, like mud-blood, were coined. It was likely intended to act as a constant reminder of one's place in the magical pecking order throughout one's life. To remind them that _they _were beneath another. It has stuck ever since and acts as a source of control. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but no one likes being challenged, no one likes the idea of losing their power and being replaced. So whenever some first generation magicals tried rising above his or her intended station, they were ruthlessly put down by factions that feared them. They served as an example to the rest, as well as a pretext for additional laws limiting their rights, reinforcing their position."

"This ingrained prejudice became even greater when the witch hunts began, and fear of magic spread amongst the non-magicals; that's why the laws so strongly favour the old families. It's all aimed at controlling and suppressing this challenge to their authority and power. It's probably the reason why historically ravens and snakes have been allies and have their own inner house politics," he said carefully.

"Hold on" she said, holding up her hand to stop him from continuing. "What do you mean by ravens and snakes? I accept the explanation about terms such as muggle and everything, and why it continues, but what do you mean by snakes and ravens having house politics?" obviously not making the connection.

"Think about everything I have said," he said carefully, challenging her to keep up, "about Lions and Badgers historically receiving most of the first generation witches and wizards."

Several minutes passed and seeing that Padma still hadn't connected the dots, he decided to give her the answer, "Think about it, how are we sorted and divided and what does each house value? The ideology of Ravenclaw and Slytherin are based mostly on one's ability. Think about it, the vast majority of magicals throughout history were better educated compared to their muggle counterparts. And then you have ambition. Because these magical families had trained their children from birth, they had the desire to rise to a higher status and rank, whilst first generation magicals, who didn't even know how to read or write, had neither assets, nor necessarily any money. These new magical were primarily used to performing manual labour, sports and fighting, skills for which you don't necessarily need to be intelligent to be successful in. Hence they were historically sorted into the badgers or lions, since they were the only houses that would accept them at the time," he explained, hoping Padma could keep up with his explanation, before continuing on.

"Now that the non-magical world has a basic education system in place, available to all regardless of socioeconomic standing, these new magicals have been much better educated prior to coming to Hogwarts for their studies in magic. It has allowed for more first generation magicals to meet the minimum necessary requirements to be considered for placement in Ravenclaw house, hence resulting in more first generation witches and wizards being sorted there, when historically they had not been. In our own way, Ravenclaw is just as elitist as Slytherin, as we value knowledge and education in our members, whilst the snakes value one's blood purity in its internal house caste system. Historically, the first two years at Hogwarts were designed to give first generation magicals a chance to catch up and learn how to read and write, that's why we have so many free slots in our first two years now. It's also why, historically, Ravenclaw has had the majority of their lessons with the snakes. It's only been in the _last_ 40 or so years that the headmaster has broken with that tradition," he lectured. "Probably under some insane idea to encourage unity between the houses, but as you see that hasn't exactly worked out even after four decades."

"Fair point, but I see no such structure in Ravenclaw," she said while looking around the near empty common room.

"Of course not, we're only first years. We're not considered a challenge to that hierarchy, and neither are the 7th years because they're far too busy with their studies to care about such things. Like any place or group of sufficient number, there is a social order, whether explicit or implicit. In the future, the top birds in here will be those that are considered the smartest and the most respected. Just watch the common room and look at the layout of the room. The 6th years have prime positions, whilst we sit in the corridors, in the shadows looking in," gesturing to each group.

"Look there, you see that girl," gesturing towards the one with obvious Chinese heritage. "See how she is at the centre of attention? If you watch and listen carefully over the next couple of weeks you will notice that she is a bit of bully. She doesn't use fists, as that would be too crude for Ravenclaws to respect; she uses words to put people down. In time, if she grows more popular, she will grow more sure of her own supposed superiority, and become an even _bigger _bully. In the future, she may even decide that _we_ are targets," he lectured, after all there was an advantage to being a bit empathic.

"What do you mean by _we are targets_," she questioned, clearly concerned about being the subject of future bullying.

"It's quite simple; like in any animal pack the young challenge the old. That's the natural order of things. She is currently above us, but both you and I are the top first year ravens, and she is considered one of the top second years. Like any living creature, she will, in time, see us as a challenge to her position should we in the future start to overshadow her and thus undermine her position. Therefore she will try to intimidate us, which if successful, will both weaken our own standing, whilst confirming her own. This will encourage others to pick on us in order to try to raise their own positions in the house," he said seriously, his mind thinking about the future and possible issues to deal with. After all Daphne had talked to him about her own inner house battles for position, and her choice to stay on the sidelines, and remain neutral, like her family was known for, rather than get openly involved.

"Ok, seriously, _you_'ve obviously spent way too much time thinking about things like this and need to spend far less time talking to Daphne about politics," she said dismissively.

"Padma, I have the ill-fated distinction of being _the_ _last_ _Potter_. I have no one to protect me. So I _need_ to think far ahead, plan my actions out carefully, and prepare for every eventuality, because if I'm considered weak or incapable, many of my future peers will consider me easy prey and I'll be targeted as a result. At the moment, the Headmaster is my magical guardian; hence I'm under his protection supposedly. As soon as I turn 17, I become an awfully tempting target and families like the Malfoys, and even those considered light and neutral, will circle me and attack if they believe I am weak. That is why I am so careful around Draco. I don't want to be seen as prey, but I don't want to be seen as an active enemy either," he answered coolly, thinking about the careful balancing act he needed to play whenever they ran into each other. He personally disliked the kid, but always kept a calm, untroubled expression on his face, and would have to until the balance shifted in his favor, until he was safer and more secure from danger.

"The Headmaster is _your_ guardian? Have you ever met him? What is he like?" she asked eagerly, since the man was like a living legend to many British magicals.

"No, I never have, he just oversaw my housing and other necessary matters, and left me with my non-magical relatives," he answered coldly, having no desire to tell Pad about the goblins' investigation into the headmaster's actions involving his accounts, and the sealing of his parents' wills.

"Oh. Anyways, with everything you said about standing and all that, what about Penny? I hardly see her as an elitist," she shot back, challenging his theory.

"Very true," he admitted, happy that the discussion was moving away from his upbringing and his non-existent relationship with the man who condemned him to misery while robbing and mismanaging his family's assets. "Penny is very clever and popular due to the fact that she is quite simply a nice person, but at the same time, she is not a leader type per se. The simple fact is that she is seen as _too_ nice, even if not a push over. She's just not seen as a threat to anyone. People often rally around individuals who are seen as a source of strength and stability. Just think about how Longbottom is the top lion in our year. He's popular due to his fame and the belief that he is powerful, and everyone wants a part of it in some way. Many purebloods will encourage their own children to gain his friendship in the hope of gaining more influence, and many pureblood families who have daughters around his age will try to get a marriage contract with him, for that very reason," he replied carefully, knowing that Padma's own family was pureblood and that a marriage contract was a distinct possibility for his friend.

He thought over everything Daphne had said on the subject, and her admission that her own family was moving towards arranging a marriage contract on her behalf, despite Daphne's desire to find her own suitable match. But it was clear Lady Longbottom was not accepting any offers at this time, most likely waiting until her grandson was older before committing him to any possible marriage and seeing what the best deal was then. She would likely take Neville's wishes into account as well.

"Like I said before, you think _too_ much about politics. Now, how about a nice and simple game of chess" she asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Sure, but I'm white this time," he said, in agreement.

**Midnight Gold**

Looking around the library, she hoped to find Daphne and Tracy and chat with them about everything Harry had said a couple of days earlier about politics and being pureblood and all that. After all, her family wasn't native to Britain and therefore wasn't exactly well versed in British historical politics.

One thing she had to admit was that she had taken to discreetly watching that Chinese girl named Cho Chang and had seen at times that the girl _was_ a bit of a bully, just like Harry had said. Given how often he ended up being right about things like that, Cho becoming a problem in the future was a bit worrying. Hopefully Harry would be wrong, but she had a small niggling feeling that he wasn't. Looking over the various study areas available she easily spotted the two Slytherins, Daphne and Tracy, sitting at a corner table where they could watch the room for possible threats. After all, the snakes were prime targets for pranks, especially the first years, as they didn't really know enough to worry the pranksters about possible retaliation.

Sitting down, she only received a sign of acknowledgement from Tracy, since Daphne was busy intently reading a book. The two of them quickly slipped into quiet discussion about the latest gossip going around the school, and putting together their own theories concerning the latest from the Hogwarts rumour mill. "Well, Malfoy is currently saying that he's going to be playing the _seeker_ position next year on our house team and that his _father_ is arranging it for him. I personally think he's just going to buy the position, since Flint is the captain," Tracy said in a quiet, disapproving tone, accompanied by a fierce shake of her head.

"Let me guess, it's because Longbottom is his house's _seeker_ and Malfoy wants to prove that he's better than the grif," Padma voiced. After all, since the day they had arrived at Hogwarts the two boys had been constantly competing against each other in their private battle of gigantic egos. Malfoy had taken whatever chance he could to one up Neville. It was also the reason why both houses were so far behind the ravens, by no less than a total of 200 points in the house cup. So unless something majorly unfair or unexpected happened before year's end, they had won the house cup this year for sure.

Shedecided to finally ask the question that had originally brought her here, "Daphne, do you mind answering a couple questions for me? It's just that Harry brought up some points a couple nights ago that I didn't know about and quite frankly have a hard time believing, and I want your thoughts on it," Padma asked cautiously, knowing the blonde wouldn't give something away freely and that she would have to pay something back in time.

"Depends on the questions," Daphne replied coldly, looking up from her book for the first time. They both respected each other, but they were mainly friends due to both of them sharing Tracy's and Harry's friendship.

Padma went on to explain Harry's theory on the house system and term ideology to both of the girls, Tracy's face turning a bit sour at the muggleborn reference since her mother was a muggleborn and her father had been a pureblood before his death during the war. Taking her time before replying, evidently thinking seriously over everything that Padma had said, Daphne replied in her normal cold tone of voice. "It's certainly possible; it wouldn't surprise me at all if that is accurate to a point."

"What about bloodline gifts?" Padma asked carefully, since Harry had said it was a delicate subject since most British purebloods did historically have some well-known bloodline trait or ability, but the abilities had either severely diminished in potency or died out entirely in most family lines by now. Harry suspected that it might be a result of too many successive generations of inbreeding and a lack of genetic diversity in British magical society.

"Why do you ask?" Daphne questioned, clearly interested in the subject of discussion.

"Well, Harry said that it's at the root of the whole blood supremacy ideology, he also said it was a sensitive subject now, which is not often talked about anymore," she asked, while wondering if she had some type of ability.

"Mostmagical lines gain traits over time, reinforced by successive generations. If your parents specialized in charms, for instance, you probably would find charms easier, due to their magic and affinity for the subject running through your veins. But it only makes it _easier_; it still requires effort and study to learn. Bloodline abilities are dying out and have been for some time, it's rather rare for a person to have one nowadays," she answered.

"Do you have one?" Padma asked out of interest.

"I don't know, but it's unlikely. Most don't develop them until their later years, closer to their late teens, near adulthood. Historically, my family, due to our druidic roots, have been able to manipulate plant life, hence the reason why our family name has 'green' in it. I know my father doesn't have the gift, nor did my grandfather, but my great grandparents did. And my mother's line had similar strengths that have since died out," she replied coldly, clearly not happy about the loss of the ability.

"I wonder what factors would cause it to strengthen or weaken over time," she said in a curious, speculating tone. "I wonder if Harry has a bloodline ability?" she mused out loud.

"He most likely does have a number of traits and abilities, since his family line is very old, but you'd have to ask him." Daphne said, in an almost factual tone

"Really? You sound so certain." Tracy commented, jumping into the discussion with interest.

"Simple really, the Potters have never said what their ability was or even if they had one. It's likely their gift gave them some advantage that they didn't want to lose. I doubt they would shout it to world, telling everyone of it, in fact it's probably a closely guarded family secret. If no one knows what your bloodline gift is, no one can counter it. Besides whole families and bloodlines have been wiped out due to their gifts or in some cases enslaved," the blonde Slytherin argued.

"Really?!" Padma and Tracy exclaimed in union, shocked at what they were hearing, causing the librarian to start walking over to them. They quickly apologized for their outburst and turned their attention back to Daphne.

"Of course, gifts like being a seer have often led to that person being taken and bound against their will, since the ability could be so useful to a family. Wouldn't _you_ like to have that kind of power under your control? To have forewarning of plots and schemes against you, or access to small flashes of the future? To know whether a plan will be successful or not? The sad thing is that, historically, male seers have been eliminated by their rivals," she ended.

"Eliminated? You mean killed?" Tracy asked, in case there was some kind of miscommunication as to her friend's meaning.

"Yes. _Killed_. In a male dominated society, like our own, a male seer could be very dangerous since they could hold political office. It's only been in the last 300 years or so that witches have gained a measure of equality in government. Even then that's only the purebloods who have proven themselves capable and have the backing of their powerful husband or father to support their career. Women have long faced this barrier, hence a witch with such an ability was seen as far less of a danger and is, for the most part, easier to control," Daphne said seriously.

"Control?" Padma asked.

"Yes, since seer ability often runs in family lines, consider holding a witch's children hostage to ensure her obedience and loyalty. There are also many rituals you could use to achieve the same end. There are also the perks of a bound female seer," Daphne finished, obviously thinking that no more needed to be said about that particular matter.

"Perks?" Padma questioned.

"_Sex_... you know..." Daphne replied in an annoyed tone, obviously getting fed up with having to explain everything and the constant questions she'd been answering. This rather frank description of the perks of a bound female seer caused both girls to blush like tomatoes.

Several minutes passed in total silence before anyone spoke again.

"So, you think the Potters were secretly seers then?" Tracy asked, Padma obviously trying not to annoy Daphne further with another question, but happy this was asked so she wouldn't have to.

"No," Daphne replied before explaining further, even though she felt that this was extremely obvious. "If they were seers, then they probably wouldn't _all be dead_, except for Harry, now would they? Besides seers have several key giveaways. If the Potter line had such a gift, it would have been recognised ages ago. The simple fact is that most seers look like they're in a dream and I've never seen Harry in a dreamy state. Seen him meditating, yes, dreaming with clouded eyes, never."

**End of chapter**


	14. Y1 Bird's Stripped Bare

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 14: Birds Stripped Bare**

**Rewritten Edition**

**Reposted 9****th**** July 2013**

**Revised and ****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

Time flew by over the following months as he focused on preparing for his exams and arranging his plans for the summer. He also spent a lot of time talking to his new owl, who had taken to nesting in his dorm room rather than the Owlery. That said, she wasn't really _his_ owl, she had made that abundantly clear after Padma had implied that he owned the owl and ended up getting bitten for the insult.

In truth, it was more like a partnership. He ended up naming her Serenity, just because it sounded like a suitable name. He had been tempted to call her Luna, since she was a 'moon' owl, but discarded it as not being very creative or original. If he had to use one word to describe Serenity, 'snobbish' would be the word of choice. 'Diva' also came to mind, now that he thought about it. The owl was very much full of herself, but it did make him feel good knowing that Serenity had decided that he was worthy of her, not the other way around of course, and had chosen him as a companion. The owl was actually turning out to be very protective of him.

As far as companions went, besides often spending the night revising with Padma and periodically Penny joining them, all this took place under Serenity's watchful eyes.

One thing that they had all agreed on when they were studying in the library was that they needed to find a new place to study by themselves, and the school grounds were hardly suitable during the winter. So now another task had been added to their already extensive lists, that of finding their own quiet spot somewhere within the school where they could hang out and study. In short their very own common room, but far more exclusive.

Several weeks passed and the first signs of summer were in the air.

They still had close to 6 weeks left of the school year, but that did not matter much as most of the school was in exam panic mode already. It appeared that he and Padma were the only ravens not continuously hitting the books with looks of extreme anxiety on their faces. One older 4th year Raven even asked why he was playing chess instead of studying.

"Simple, I've studied ahead throughout the year; in fact I could have taken the first year exams by Christmas. I could probably even get an 'A' or an 'E' in my second year exams if I did them right now without much trouble, with history the only one I'd concerned about." He'd given this answer with a bit of smugness in his voice, as he was rather proud of his accomplishments. This caused many other students nearby who happened to be listening to pause in thought.

Padma couldn't help but roll her eyes at this in annoyance and exasperation; she had long ago given up trying to keep up with him lest she suffer a nervous breakdown. She had eventually settled on ensuring that she had mastered all the first year material, rather than trying any second year stuff just yet. However, she had picked up some second year material already, albeit unintentionally, simply from watching him.

Rather than compete futilely with Harry, Padma had decided to focus on an intense 3 way battle between Daphne, Granger, and herself for the position of top female student in the year rankings. Tracy had simply settled for getting good grades, rather than actively completing against them. That said, he knew if she managed to outrank any of them, in _any_ subject, she would rub it in mercilessly. It warmed his heart.

The end of year exams results were broken up by overall rankings, i.e. the student who got the most grade points, and then by an individual subject ranking system. This system was started by some centuries past Ravenclaw headmistress who thought it would encourage higher academic achievement through active competition, thereby driving students to work harder. In reality, it was only the ravens who actively took part in seeking the number 1 position in the rankings. Most of the other houses just didn't care, as the Ravens almost invariably got the top 5 positions every year. In his personal, rather jaded opinion, the whole ranking system seemed to be just another means of the headmistress to discreetly promote her old house's students, over the others.

He personally thought that he'd almost certainly get the top spot in both charms and transfiguration. Daphne, if he had to bet, would get herbology and possibly astronomy too, if Pad didn't. Granger he just didn't know. He knew that she was studying like a Ravenclaw, though, based on how long she was in the library. He still wondered how she became a lioness...

In DADA, he personally thought Neville would be his closest rival for the top position. After all, the boy had been trained from a very young age in both duelling and combat by masters in the field, but not in the theory itself though. So he was sure he and Neville would have near equal results in the practical tests for DADA, but the theory portion would probably go to him as he doubted Neville would revise much for it. This was especially true if the boy's friend Ron was distracting him; couple that with the boy's own overconfidence in his abilities and Neville would likely end up number two in the subject.

He was actually looking forward to the DADA exam and wondered if he could get extra marks for non-verbal casting. After all, he was only a first year, surely that would impress the examiner, since that skill was only taught at NEWT level.

During all of this, he also still had to go to his weekly appointments with Poppy, the school nurse. He had managed to persuade the nurse not to reveal anything her diagnostic scans showed without his permission. After all, he had no desire for his medical data to become public, especially after she had passionately tried to get him to agree to a medical study of the ring's long-term effects on his core growth. Sure, in the abstract, he was all for helping to improve magical medical knowledge and understanding; but he had absolutely no desire for his rings and thus his dual lordships to become public knowledge. The reality was that even if he wanted to be a proper test subject, he would have to reveal both lordships and that would raise questions, and frankly, he liked the advantage the two rings gave him and wanted to keep it secret for as long as possible. And He received no real benefits from taking part in the study. In fact would lose a valuable advantage over his fellow Lords. Since the study only offered negatives, he politely declined.

The argument with the nurse had gone on for a good twenty minutes before he finally put his foot down and pointed out that it was his choice and that if she persisted he would be forced to report her to the healer's board and put in conditions that she wouldn't be allowed to treat him in the future, period. He didn't leave until he got an oath from her that anything her scans revealed would stay strictly between him and her, and no one else. He made it explicitly clear that this was especially true for his magical guardian, as he had no desire for the old man to put his overly long nose into his business again, when it ultimately didn't concern him.

After all, the last time the headmaster had interfered in his life, he'd ended up with his abusive relatives, nearly starved to death and living in a cupboard, and perhaps of even greater long-term consequences, his family's business empire had nearly been destroyed. As his magical guardian he had been charged with the duty of running and rebuilding his family's businesses until he was old enough to take over. Instead he had merely sold off most of the damaged assets to other light-side families at huge discounts and left the rest to languish without active management.

What he had found out through Bloodmoon was that all of the families who had purchased these Potter assets were long-time Dumbledore supporters and allies. In the span of a mere ten years under Dumbledore's control, the Potter family had gone from being one of the top 7 business families in magical Britain, to being a third rate power. The Potter Empire had been dismantled piecemeal and spread out like gifts between the man's favourites. It reminded him of how often, after a war, the loser's assets and possessions would be raided and shared as spoils among the victors. In this case, after the war, a weakened and vulnerable ally on the winning side had instead been carved up and spread around like graft by their trusted leader. This was made even worse when you considered that his parents had won the war only by paying the ultimate price, leaving him an orphan. In the end, it was hard to tell who was worse, Dumbledore, wearing the shining robes of wisdom and goodness, or Voldemort, who at least never pretended to be your friend when he tried to destroy you.

He didn't know how he had kept himself from releasing the all encompassing rage he felt that day, after he had received Bloodmoon's report on the last 11 years. All he knew was that Tonks had gotten a very good workout in their next couple of sessions. In time, once the rage subsided and he could think clearly again, he decided that he would rebuild it bigger, better, and stronger then before; he vowed that much to himself. He would take back all that should have been his and more. After all, betrayal had a price that needed to be paid in time. Dumbledore and his light side sycophants would rue the day that they tried to destroy his family legacy. He would give them one chance to make things right, then the gloves would be off.

He was already planning how to make his vow a reality. Hopefully this summer he could even put some of his plans into effect. The Potter family's assets had been mainly in magical Britain and Ireland, with some mundane businesses acting as fronts for importing materials needed into the magical markets, i.e. basic foods and textiles, and now metals, since Bloodmoon had begun using the Peverell accounts to buy up steel and iron and reselling to another source. It actually brought in very nice quarterly profits which he was pleased about. He did wonder though who was actually buying the steel, since steel was hardly used by wizards in general from what he knew.

He would eventually move into continental Europe and expand there. If he managed to get his own docks up and running again, he could bring in everything needed to fuel his long-term plans, while at the same time avoiding having to use another family's dockyard and the larger ministry fees. Effectively he could undercut his rivals by not having to pay fees for using someone else's docks; simply put, he would undermine them, and only families who 'owned' their own docks could conceivably cut their prices to match his.

From the family files in his vaults he had already reviewed, his docks were privately owned and under the treaty of 1454 were outside ministry control as long as he didn't import illegal goods and obeyed the current laws. If he complied with those two restrictions, he would be free to operate as he saw fit and only had to pay a basic import and export tax of 5% on all goods. It was _good_ to be an old family. From a political perspective, all it would take to rebuild the docks would be securing enough allies to support him, and their own allies in turn to stop the ministry from trying to interfere on his future competitors' behalf. Of course the funds needed to physically rebuild the docks would be extreme, but he was certain he could manage it.

With Bloodmoon's recent actions buying up steel and iron and reselling it, his account manager was netting him close to an additional 110 thousand galleons in profit nearly every yearly quarter. That's assuming the profits remained consistent. In British Pounds Sterling this was close to 8 million pounds a year, depending on gold exchange prices before taxes, fees and everything added on top. All he knew was that he was in the green, as far as the saying goes, or in the wizarding world, in the Gold.

He already knew how he would go about winning allies to support his business venture; to entice them he would offer a significant discount for all their shipping needs, for a set number of years. They'd also be preferred customers and receive greater priority and preference over others both during and after those discounts ended. The details would have to be worked out and he would let Bloodmoon handle the legal end, but he already had plans to ask Padma to set up a meeting with her father to discuss the idea of becoming one of those early customers and supporters. He would do the same with Daphne as well, to see if her family was interested in a joint enterprise, since they could both profit from it by bypassing the ministry docks and the other private ones.

So he had a plan, albeit a simple one, but it was still a plan. It was obviously better to have a simple plan rather than none at all. Sure it was bit ambitious, but this was a long term project. He knew it would take several years, maybe a decade to achieve, but like the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day.

It was a seed, but in time, with careful planning, patience and tender loving care, it would grow to become a mighty oak.

**Midnight Gold**

He dodged left, then right, before sending a disarming charm back at his opponent, followed by a series of strategically placed stinging hexes. His opponent just shielded herself from the barrage of hexes, before sending a series of stunners at him, followed by two disarming charms.

He dove forward to get under the barrage of spells, before quickly rolling to the right to avoid the following leg-locking hex, before sending another wave of hexes back at Tonks.

This was how their duels normally played out; Tonks would cast stunners, minor jinxes, hexes, and disarming charms. The whole purpose of these mock duels was to learn to sidestep and dodge effectively rather than rely on shields.

As far as he was concerned duels were primarily won by the more aggressive dueller. Hiding behind shields, just drained you faster in the end and forced you onto the defensive, and you can't often win playing defensive. There were many different duelling styles and techniques to use though, depending on your strengths and weaknesses.

He then cast an aguamenti charm at her; he knew it would miss, but it didn't matter, he was trying to cover as much of Tonks' side the duelling area with as much water as possible. And he was slowly succeeding in flooding the make shift arena, it was even around his own feet.

He had used this trick on Tonks before, but he knew she would never expect what he was about to do. He had steadily and discreetly been moving towards the chair and table, planning to use them as make shift islands for the next part of his plan.

Sending a minor bolt of blue lighting at the floor near her feet he jumped onto one of the nearby chairs, then onto the desk, thus avoiding the electricity going through the water. Landing on the table and spinning around, he saw Tonks trying to copy his acrobatics to avoid the discharge by aiming for her own table.

While he was watching this he couldn't help but be impressed that she had managed to react so fast to the perceived danger. That said, he still had one thing going for him-a good sense of balance. He watched as she jumped from the chair to the table. The chair, not quite the stable platform she thought it was, fell over in mid jump, causing her to misjudge the jump and send her off course. Judging the direction of her jump, he shouted "stupefy" while she was still mid air.

The stunner rushed across the room towards Tonks who just had enough time to notice the spell before it hit. Her features changed to one of shock, since this was the first time he had ever cast the spell in one of their duels. Unfortunately for his duelling partner, the angle of her jump prevented her from being able to cast a shield effectively and she could only watch as the stunner hit her unerringly in the chest and rendered her unconscious.

The stunned girl impacted the table she had been aiming for and landed on her stomach and bounced somewhat on impact.

Looking at Tonks and her comic impact with the table caused him to voice his thoughts aloud, although no one was around to hear him, "Damn, that's got to hurt." He took in the sight of his duelling partner lying haphazardly over the desk for a few moments, legs down one side, while her arms and head were over the other, her wand falling out of her limp fingers and landing on the wet floor below.

Jumping down from the desk he was currently standing on, he made his way across the wet classroom floor to check on his partner's well being. After all, landing like that could have broken a rib of two.

Putting two fingers on her neck to make sure she was indeed alive, if not still kicking, he found a good, strong pulse. Running a hand gently down each side of her body, he found no signs of any broken ribs. He had had his fair share of broken ribs in his short life and he knew the signs well; Tonks would only have some bruising for the next couple of days if she didn't do anything to speed the healing along, like a bruise paste or a general healing spell. And she could hardly complain about it, the girl wanted to be an Auror; a couple bruises were nothing compared to the possibility of losing a leg or something in the line of duty.

Picking up her wand carefully, he got a strange feeling from her wand. It was warm, but not comfortable. It actually reminded him of the wands he had tried and failed to get a proper reaction from. Going to cast the counter spell, he realized to his embarrassment that he didn't know the counter, nor had a chance to learn it, since he'd only just learned the stunning charm a couple of nights ago.

He also realized that now that the adrenaline had stop pumping through him, just how much magic the 3rd year spell had taken to pull off. Combined with the magical costs of their duelling session, he was dead tired and feeling magically drained. Looking down at Tonks' unconscious form he knew that a basic stunner could last anywhere from 10 minutes to 5 hours depending on the caster's strength and the stunned person's resistance to the spell. This left him with a problem; it was already getting late and would soon be 10. He could go find somebody to wake her and have to explain what happened, or he could wait and hope she woke up soon.

He could always leave the young metamorphmagus to wake up by herself, after casting a locking charm on the door for safety.

This idea would also give him a chance for a little well deserved payback on Tonks, as she herself had recently left him to wake up naked with just his wand, after one of their evening duelling sessions. Walking naked through the school with just his wand in hand was not a pleasant experience at all. He could thank Merlin that he wasn't caught. That said, it had been after midnight when that had happened to him, by the time he had gotten back, the corridors were empty, but that was beside the point. The simple fact of that matter was that the young woman before him had thought that she could get away with it, with no repercussions. She still hadn't even returned his clothes! He didn't care much about most of the clothes she had, but his boots were expensive and nice.

Thinking over the possible scenarios, he was very tempted to do the same as her. Then he could ransom her clothes back to her, in exchange for his own which she was still holding hostage.

Deciding to go with that plan of action, he began stripping her.

First the jacket came off, then her black top, which had a band's name written on it. Some obviously magical group called the "weird sisters" or something. Then he started on her bra and carefully removed that, which just happened to match the top. Then off came the tight jeans, which was actually quite difficult to remove; he had no idea how much shimmying must have been involved when she removed them herself. Following her jeans, came a red thong, or g-string, he honestly didn't know which was which; all he knew was that it was red and was underwear, although there was very little actual fabric involved.

One time he had visited penny's dorm room and got a good look around. He quickly realized that his oldest female friend was kind of messy and had dirty clothing all over the place and hadn't had time to tidy up. A couple of times, when she had bent over in her jeans, he saw Penny had similar underwear to Tonks. On these occasions, several of the older guys near them gave them a peek as well; some of them weren't even discreet and he could have sworn that Percy was one of them.

He didn't know what the big deal was; it was just underwear after all. They all had to wear underwear. Seriously, what was the big deal? He chalked this up to only maybe understanding when he was older, as it seemed to only affect the older boys in the area and no one else. He continued stripping Tonks, but wasn't really paying much attention to what he was doing.

He finished and now all Tonks had on were her signature black leather boots. He was half tempted to take them too, just to make sure the point was made about taking his favourite boots! And that he wanted them back! He decided to show her a small bit of mercy that she had not given him and after picking up her over-robe that she had worn over her weekend clothing, threw it over her naked body to cover her up. He then cast a warming charm on her, causing him to start to feel a bit light headed from his magic levels going so low.

He put her wand in one of her boots, before checking over his handywork. If he had only been a couple years older, he may have taken more time to savour the sight of the beautiful and naked 6th year, spread bare across the table. Unfortunately, he was still just a kid, not even in puberty yet, so such thoughts and desires didn't even occur to him yet. This would be something his future self would torment him with, the knowledge of what he could have done. One of the gifts and the curses of a photographic mind, a result of practising the mind arts, was that you never forgot such things.

Sighing, he still had the locking charm to cast yet. Thankfully he had a mild pain numbing potion in his dorm. Walking over to the door, before looking over the classroom, he made sure that Tonks was reasonably well covered, before waving his hand over the runes near the door to turn off the lighting charms, causing the nude girl to disappear into the darkness.

Letting his eyes adjust, once again making sure that nothing was visible, he locked the room, with the naked Tonks inside.

It was only fair after all; she had pranked him first. It was simply good manners that he returned the gesture. He was the son of a Hogwarts marauder after all; it just wouldn't be right that he allow an upstart prankster to get one over on him. Before walking back to dorm, he made a mental note to look up the counter spell for the stunner, especially if he was going to keep using it in their training sessions. The only reason this situation should happen again, was if he wanted it to

It never occurred to him just how many men would have paid a small fortune to have been in his position, with the chance to look at the naked beauty that was Tonks.

**Midnight Gold**

**Earlier that same day**

Tracy had a plan. Out of the Slytherin duo, she was the one who was overlooked most of time. She understood why of course, both Daphne and Harry had a lot of similar interests and similar views on many topics, enabling them to get along with long debates on values and traditions and what ifs.

While Padma was quite like her, just less devious, they all were currently looking for a place that they could make their own, a private little den. So all of them had taken to exploring the castle in their free time, trying to find a suitable spot to set up camp, hopefully for the next 6 years.

It had occurred to her, after a visit to the kitchens, that the house elves had worked at Hogwarts since it had opened and had lived longer than any of the staff in the building. So if anyone knew the hidden, or just plain forgotten areas of Hogwarts, it would be them. The elves would of course keep it secret, as long as they weren't doing anything dangerous that threatened another student's safety or weren't asked directly by the headmaster.

So now she was in the kitchens, waiting for one of the elves to decide what to do, since they were debating amongst themselves a series of places to suggest, all of which fit the brief description she had given them. She then decided to give them a bit more detail, since it appeared the elves knew far too many spots that had been lost and forgotten by the current staff.

She repeated her original request and added more detail to narrow down the options, "I need a place where we can train and talk and socialize without spying eyes. It needs to be private and hidden, where only we can access it. So it needs a door guardian or something similar and it needs to be away from the main corridors, but still easily accessible, so other students and teachers don't wonder why we're in the area at all," she said seriously.

The group had discussed the requirements for their own 'nest/pit' and that they wanted privacy, but they had overlooked a rather key issue; if they were always seen in an abandoned area of the castle, then people would take notice and investigate it, to see what they were doing and where they were going. Far better to be seen in a frequently travelled area; that way people would simply assume they were travelling about their business like normal.

Finally snapping out of her own internal dialogue, she noticed that the house elves were trying to get her attention; having finally come to a consensus on what locations would be the most suitable for her and her needs.

"Miss, there are a dozen places that are suitable based on the requirements you described for us" said the elf spokesmen respectfully.

Nodding her head to acknowledge the point, she tried to speak formally by trying to copy Daphne's normal tone. "Please show me my options," trying to make it sound like an order. She was trying to recreate the cold persona that Daphne often used, since she noticed that it was quite effective, as the other first years left her friend alone.

"Of course miss," he replied.

The next couple of hours were filled with the house elf, who was named Dib, showing her the different rooms around the school. She made careful note of each one's location and the method to access them. She really liked the idea of having her own secret spot in the future.

Almost all the rooms appeared, at one point or another, to have been private research areas used by previous professors. This conclusion was based on the discarded equipment lying around these rooms. The need for privacy and secrecy was to be somewhat expected, as even teachers didn't want to have their research stolen by a rival.

Walking around this particular room, two walls appeared to be made entirely out of glass, with stone supports at the corner, effectively making an **'L'** shaped window across the two walls, giving a clear view of the grounds and the lake. From this spot she could see several students sitting or walking the grounds, several pairs under a set of trees. It was clear everyone was out and about enjoying the summer weather. It appeared that the windows were charmed to not be visible from the outside, otherwise she doubted this room would still be a secret, lying unused, and not someone's personal office/suite since it had such a great view.

It also allowed her to spy on the grounds below. Checking to see if the windows actually opened, she found that they did, meaning they could always be used as an exit. They would just have to have some brooms nearby, as it was several stories up. She made her way across the room to a set of stairs that lead to the floor above.

Opening the next door revealed a bedroom, with another 2 walls of window and a rather large bathroom. The connected bath seemed to be the size of your average swimming pool. So obviously, the second floor was meant to be living quarters , while the ground floor was more of a study and research area. She decided to ask Dibs a couple of questions about the room, before deciding on its suitability.

"Dibs," she called out, which caused the house elf to appear by her side, before continuing carefully ."This space is most impressive. I just have a couple more questions that I hope you can answer," Tracy asked

"Of course miss" giving a minor bow to her, before waiting to be questioned.

"When was this room last used? And can you explain why there are such big glass windows?" Tracy asked dibs, gesturing to the windows.

"I don't know miss, but if you give me a couple of minutes to ask one of the older elves, I could provide you with the answers you seek," dibs replied. Tracy just nodded, before once again looking around the room taking in all its features.

Several minutes passed before dibs returned with an elderly female elf, who appeared to be extremely old, probably nearing the end of her life. "This is Petal, she can help answer your questions miss" Dibs explained, before Tracy asked Petal the same series of questions.

"Miss, these quarters were last used in 1818, when the Lady Songbird was teaching here at Hogwarts. The glass windows were because Lady Songbird was a bird animagus and liked being able to see the sky," the elderly Petal answered slowly, thinking carefully over each word, in a sagely tone, which could only come with age and great experience. Old people seemed to enjoy using this tone to make sure they didn't forget anything important.

Thinking over everything Petal said, it explained the windows and why they could actually be opened. It also explained the choice of swan door guardian and why it appeared the room was near the top of one the towers. "Thank you Petal, can you also explain to me why this room is so well hidden?" she asked the two elves.

"Of course miss" dibs replied. "The Lady Songbird was very well respected, but had several powerful enemies who wished her harm; she created these quarters with that in mind. It has modified wards on it, which prevents it from being plot-able. It also has wards which hide the outside windows from all those who don't know the secret. There are also several subtle compulsion wards designed to redirect anyone away from the room who didn't know of its existence already," Dibs answered thoroughly.

Tracy couldn't help but smile at Dib's description of the suite's protections; it would be an ideal place for her and her friends to hang out in private. However, she wondered how she had been able to find the place at all. "That's good to hear; it fits everything we need," at this she saw the two elves beaming at their success, before she continued, "How is it that you were able to show me the room then as I didn't know it was here? And will anyone be able to find it, such as my head of house, Professor Snape?" she could easily see Snape interfering if he found out about this place. He was already trying to get her and Daphne to stop hanging around with Harry and Padma, but he didn't have any legitimate grounds to justify it after Daphne pointed out that they had a mutually beneficial relationship which bettered both parties. Potter assisted them with their weak subjects; they in turn assisted him with his. Two parties working together for mutual benefit was the Slytherin thing to do. This argument forced their head of house to drop it for the moment, as he didn't have any other grounds to justify forbidding their friendship.

"No miss, only people like yourself who know the room's location can reveal it. If you show your friends, then they will be able to find it again. In the same way that anyone who follows them will be able to find the door again. We know the room's location because we are connected to Hogwarts and are charged with taking care of its halls, unless ordered to do otherwise. Only the Headmaster can find this room without another's aid and that's only if he was specifically looking for it. To everyone else this area is just another old storage room, no longer needed." Dibs explained while Petal just nodded in agreement at the younger elf's explanation.

"Thank you for your help Dibs, Petal, I am most grateful for your aid" both elves beamed at her with their success. "I just ask you to keep this secret," she asked.

"Of course miss, as long as you do nothing that endangers Hogwarts or its students, we will keep it secret, until the Headmaster orders us otherwise," Dibs replied in explanation.

"Thank you again" Tracy said, causing both to bow before disappearing, leaving her alone in the room. She couldn't help but beam with pride as well over her success at finding their own private and secret common space to meet in the future.

**The following morning**

Tonks was looking the part of a very angry woman as she stormed through the halls, looking for the green eyed raven that had left her naked and unconscious in an abandoned classroom. He had also taken her wand. Marching into the Great Hall, she looked over the tables to see that he wasn't even there yet, since it was a Sunday. Obviously he had chosen to lie in.

Rather than waiting in the hall she picked up an apple before heading towards the Ravenclaw dorms looking to catch her prey.

Marching through the corridors at a fast pace she hoped to ambush him as she'd rather avoid going to the teachers. It would be an amazingly embarrassing story to tell as she had been bested by a first year and then left naked with nothing but her boots and over-robes in a locked classroom for several hours. Luckily one of the house elves had turned up and unlocked the door.

She was going to hex his bits off as soon as she got her wand back, she promised herself with relish.

Arriving at the Ravenclaw common room door, she knew that she had to answer a stupid riddle to get in, but ended up failing horribly, as in her unbridled rage she just wasn't able to think clearly and logically. She actually had to wait for another Ravenclaw to turn up, who then agreed to get the green eyed first year, whom she desperately wanted to use as target practise.

After a while the raven haired boy turned up. Before she could say anything his wand was levelled at her and he was speaking calmly, but coldly. "I know you're angry my dear, your hair says it all." This caused Tonks to realize that her hair had unknowingly turned bright, crimson red during her raging throughout the school.

"But no matter how angry you are, I doubt you want to make a scene in front of my dorm where we would have an audience," Harry said, gesturing to the open door and the curious looks they were getting from inside. A moment later he was gesturing for her to lead the way towards a nearby room that he had pointed out to her with the tip of his lit wand, following her carefully.

As soon as they reached an abandoned classroom she turned around and began to shout angrily, "HOW THE HELL COULD YOU LEAVE ME NAKED LIKE THAT HARRY? ESPECIALLY IN SUCH A POSITION! AND WHERE THE FUCK IS MY WAND?"

He was just looking at her, calm and collected as could be, obviously formulating a response before replying, "First of all, if you'll remember, you did the exact same thing to me Tonks. You stripped me bare and left me locked in the same classroom. So don't lecture me about it; you did it first and fair is fair after all," he said to her all the while looking deeply into her eyes.

Before she could reply that it had only been a joke, he continued "You thought it was ridiculously funny when you did it to me and you still haven't given me my stuff back; so it seemed absolutely fair that I'd keep yours until you return what's mine And I left your wand with you, so that you could unlock the door. So unless you lost it, it's hardly my fault. And another reason why I left you like that was that I quite frankly didn't know the counter spell to the stunner. I only learned that spell a couple of nights ago because I wanted to surprise you with it during our duel" Harry carefully explained.

His answer brought up several mixed emotions, the most urgent of them being concern and heartache for her lost cherry wood and Demiguise hair wand, and the possibility of losing her very first wand. She felt empty without it on her person, before feeling renewed anger for being left in such an exposed and vulnerable position. 'Who knows who could have taken advantage of me in that defenceless state?'

"You still shouldn't have left me like that, you should have gone and found someone. And you will be helping me search for my wand" she said angrily, trying to make him feel guilty.

"Yeah, I suppose I could have," Harry admitted. "But I wanted to keep the lessons private. I checked you over and you were fine, just a bit of bruising on your third and fourth ribs, nothing serious. Besides, you should know as well I do that a stunner can last anywhere from 10 minutes to 5 hours, depending on the circumstances. That stunner and the training session that came before it left me magically drained; I needed to lie down afterward," he explained smoothly. "I also cast a warming charm on you, despite being light headed from training with you. You were as safe as you could be; I even covered you up with your robe! I didn't have to leave you that, you certainly didn't leave me with any clothing the night you pulled this exact same thing," he snarked, shooting an angry look back at her, causing her to feel slightly guilty over her own joke.

"Now dear, I really don't get the big deal about leaving you naked on a desk, so you will have to explain it to me. Oh, I have a theory about where you wand is," Harry replied with a mixture of innocence and curiosity. It was a disarming combination when used with those beautiful eyes. He'd be quite the heartbreaker when he grew up a little bit more.

She couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope and happiness at the idea of having her wand back. She just didn't feel right not having it, like she wasn't a witch anymore. She thought over what he had said about being confused over her anger at being left naked on the table with just her boots. Then it suddenly hit her; despite Harry being seriously mature for his age, he was still just a first year, and probably hadn't even been taught about 'quill and the inkpots,' as her mum put it. He wouldn't get that until the end of second year then the teachers gave everyone the magical version of the 'talk.' So leaving her naked like that hadn't even crossed his mind as sexual; it was just payback for her own prank on him.

This important realization lead her to recognize that a lot of her anger was misdirected. She was most certainly still angry, but now she had to give a first year 'the talk' since she had brought it up.

Looking back at the first year, she decided to try and stop this subject from being discussed any further; frankly she didn't want the responsibility of giving him the talk. "Never mind about that; you'll understand when you're older," she replied nervously, trying to avoid the embarrassing topic, using the method her mother and father had used to great effect for so long.

"Do you really think that's going to work on me Tonks? You have to make up a much better excuse," Harry replied, causing Tonks to silently curse at getting a first year raven that wasn't intimidated by her in the slightest; it was almost like he was challenging her to do better. She wouldn't be able to get out of it now; it would be better to explain it on her own terms anyways and would also have the side benefit of embarrassing the hell out of Harry. Of course this would happen only _after_ she got her wand back, since she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid the matter. "Sure I'll tell you and answer all your questions in lovely detail," she responded in her best innocent tone. She again saw that Harry obviously wasn't convinced and had caught on to her fake innocence.

"But first you need to help me find my wand," she began making her way towards the door, with thoughts of how detailed she should go. After all it wasn't her fault; he just asked her a question, and she was doing her responsible best as older student and mentor by 'educating' him.

"Right boot," Harry's reply came immediately, causing her to wake from her internal monologue before responding. "Pardon me?" Obviously missing what he had just said.

"I said, _right boot_," gesturing his wand towards her right boot, causing her to look at her boot. She was still confused as to why the raven was pointing his wand at her shoe and her face obviously betrayed her confusion as he clarified. "Last night I put your wand in your right boot, so that it wouldn't be lost," he offered in explanation carefully, making sure to annunciate all his words extra clearly, like when an adult talks to a child.

Quickly reaching into her right boot, she immediately felt her wand handle and a corresponding feeling of warm comfort flow through her, a feeling that she had come to recognise as her magic. She couldn't help but smile at the return of her wand and its comforting presence. Looking it over she saw it giving off a faint glow, just like the day she first got it.

The next thing she did was shoot a complex locking charm at the door, sealing them in tightly, before she turned and gave her best sinister smile. "Now let's talk about the quills and the inkpots," this caused the first year boy to pale, obviously recognizing all too late where this topic was going

**Padma PoV**

Padma came across the table and saw her 3 friends sitting together. Harry actually looked kind of pale and maybe even a bit sick, just like the time when her sister had eaten way too much dessert when they were younger.

"You ok Harry?" she asked, concerned about her best friend.

"I'll be fine Pad, I was just given far too much information about a topic that I really didn't need to know about for a couple of years, at the least," he offered in explanation, yet refusing to meet her eyes. This answer came as quite a shock to everyone at the table; the thought of a consummate raven like Harry thinking something was too much information. That was just crazy talk!

"Ok, if you're sure," she replied a bit dubiously, before turning to Tracy. "You wanted to show us something Tracy?" Referring to the cryptic message Tracy had sent earlier, with interest, since Tracy was starting to show her more cunning personality recently.

"Yeah, I think I found a spot where we can hang out," Tracy replied, causing everyone to look up from their work in surprise.

All three of them looked at each other in interest, before looking back at Tracy and eerily speaking in unison, "Lead the way." This caused Tracy to jump excitedly into motion. They quickly followed Tracy to a 5th floor corridor, near where the runes classroom was, and passed by one of the popular passageways leading to Ravenclaw tower. Tracy stopped mid-corridor, making the effort to look over her shoulder to make sure they were the only ones in the corridor, before slipping into the shadows behind a stone statue of a dismounted knight. The rest quickly made to follow her into the passageway.

Harry quickly cast a lighting charm, causing the rest of them to also cast the lumos charm, lighting the passageway with a faint glow. It was just enough for them to see their way, but not enough to cause anyone to notice the glowing light coming from behind the statue.

After a couple minutes of walking following the passageway, they took a right into a hidden grove where they reached a wooden door. Tracy pulled out her wand and spoke aloud, "The sunbird rises at dawn and sleeps at dusk." This was obviously a password as they caused the wooden door to unlock with an audible click, revealing a circular staircase which lead up to the floor above. They went up the stairs until they reached a door with a door guardian in the shape of a swan. It was beautifully crafted and seemed to have runes covering it, with two bright sapphires for eyes, pulsing with a faint glow of energy.

Tracy stepped forward and once again spoke aloud, "I fly high and true, I follow my heart and let the winds take me and the waters embrace me," this caused the swan to sink into the floor and the door behind it to open.

A well appointed room was revealed, looking out onto grounds. She couldn't help but be amazed at what her friend Tracy had found; it was clear that everyone was equally as impressed by Tracy's discovery, before Padma voiced what everyone was already thinking, "Great job in finding this room Tracy!" this exclamation causing Tracy to glow a bit with pride at her success.

Everyone else quickly voiced their whole hearted agreement, before Harry transitioned into his interrogation mode, asking about the series of rooms. Tracy explained the windows and all about the Lady Songbird who occupied this room previously and was a bird animagus, probably a swan. She also shared what the house elves had explained about the modified wards on the place and why the marvellous place hadn't been found in the last 150 or so years, even when unoccupied.

All of them agreed to keep the current passphrases, but noted them down carefully so that they would remember them all, before they went about discussing how they were going to use the rooms.

The main room was decided to have a common room type theme, and they collectively agreed that the back wall should contain any books of interest to the group or anything else they could use. The bedroom on the floor above they were planning to change into a private study area, a room where silence was needed for things like potions. The bathroom would stay a bathroom/washroom for the group to use, mainly because they couldn't change it, plus it saved them from having to leave their study room if they need the toilet. Removing that need to leave would also better protect the room from being discovered. Plus all of them liked the idea of having a private bathroom unto themselves, since it was much better to share between just the 4 of them, rather than having to share with all their current housemates. Of course they made rules for its use and put a sign on the door when it was in use, etc.

Padma thought about the group's membership and purpose and wondered what they should call themselves. She decided to voice this question aloud because surely the others would be thinking along the same lines. "What are we going to call our group? And how are we going to decorate this place?" These questions caused everyone to break off from what they were doing and began trying to think up an appropriate name.

**End of chapter**


	15. Y1 Exams and Raiders

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 15 ****Exams and Raiders**

**Reposted 3rd November 2013**

**Revised and****Beta'd by 'Joe Lawyer'**

Pushing her long blonde hair behind her ears once again, she considered for moment tying it up in a ponytail, but dismissed it as she turned to question her friend. "What do you mean, Padma?" Daphne asked, wondering where her Indian friend's statement was going. Of course, like any good Slytherin she wasn't going to admit that she considered Padma a friend, preferring to act like she was only a passing ally at best.

"Well, every group has a symbol or a unique colour scheme of some type; all the common rooms around Hogwarts have their own special theme and design, so why shouldn't we have our own?" Padma pressed, showing her growing self-confidence as the small group examined the old, long unused quarters.

"Padma," Harry replied calmly, causing everyone to shift their attention to him as he said his piece. "We're not a formal group or assembly, or some type of diabolical secret organisation bent on world conquest," several smiles broke out amongst the group. "We're just four respectable first year students that enjoy each other's company and want to work in peace and quiet, without being disturbed by our more childish peers," the four of them grinned in agreement.

Daphne nodded her head in agreement as her childhood friend, Tracy, mimicked the gesture, openly supporting Harry's statement which caused Padma to give a childish pout. Deciding to win some favour from the Ravenclaw twin, she stroked her chin thoughtfully, "Padma is right about one thing, we need to redecorate this place," Daphne said whilst gesturing round the disused room with a sweeping motion of her hand. "It's horribly outdated and needs to be made respectable. We can always decide on a symbol or name for whatever this little group is later, since we still have another _six_ years here to plot world domination," the grins turned into chuckles and giggles at this bit of silliness, Padma's pout quickly disappearing.

"So what colours are you suggesting then Daphne?" Harry enquired, giving her a curious look, with a slight grin on his lips. "Surely _you_ have some ideas already, otherwise you wouldn't have spoken up?" Harry had obviously picked up on her subtle hint, whilst laying down his own challenge.

Smiling back at her Ravenclaw ally, she accepted the hidden challenge. "Well, I was thinking of a two colour based theme, much like the rest of Hogwarts' houses are based on, but something darker in our case, something far more elegant and refined. Something that helps to convey our position as being the school's top first years," she explained to the group, whilst quickly thinking of some points to support her proposal if it became necessary. She turned to face Harry again.

He smiled back at her, "Getting a bit ahead of ourselves there Daphne, aren't you?" He offered back with a confident smile. "We may be the top students in our classes; but we have yet to take the official top places in the end of year rankings. I'd rather not mess with fate by being overconfident; history has shown time and time again that overconfidence, more often than not, leads to defeat and failure." Harry lectured to them as a whole, but did not actually deny the idea of using a two colour design theme. "We should not lessen our revision efforts just because we feel confident right now."

"Yes Professor Potter," Tracy voiced sweetly before erupting into giggles, along with Padma, as she gave her own grin.

"Good Miss Davis, I expect you to put your best effort into your examinations," Harry countered with a rather accurate impression of Professor McGonagall, before his own broad smile appeared.

"So what are you thinking Daphne? You wouldn't mention dark colours unless you had a good reason," Tracy asked, picking up where Harry had left off.

Daphne made a mental note to be more subtle next time, since everyone seemed to see through her ploy at getting the colour scheme that she desired most. "I only want this place to look presentable, since it will say a lot about us as a group if we ever invite others to join us. The dark rich colours will bring out the light from the windows more," she defended, whilst trying to make it sound like it was in the group's collective interest to see her way.

"You have yet to answer the question Daphne, so stop trying to avoid it and just tell us what colour scheme you are already thinking of," Harry expressed, obviously not in the mood today for playing her word games like he normally was.

"A black and gold trim theme; it would be both elegant and simple," she offered evenly.

She had been a fan of darker colours for a long time, not that that indicated she was a dark witch or anything. It was just because it was simple and elegant, and had the side-benefit of enhancing her own looks, whilst gold itself just screamed wealth and position. When combined together tactfully, such simple things like colour choice could achieve such wonderful psychological results. Another factor was that most of them were from wealthy families, who had influence within the Ministry of Magic due to their family names. Therefore Gold was a suitable colour choice since it represented wealth and position and exclusivity. Tracy herself was from a moderately wealthy family, but they had suffered a significant decline in their considerable status since her father had died. Despite this, the colour gold suited them.

The group spent several minutes weighing up her proposed suggestion, obviously trying to imagine what the room would look like with a gold and black colour theme, before Padma spoke up. "While I like the idea, isn't black kind of a depressing colour, and gives the impression, however unfairly, that we're dark?" she asked unsurely.

"No," both she and Harry said at the same time, before turning to look at each other with a small smile growing on their faces whilst trying to work out which one should speak first, much to the amusement of Padma and Tracy.

Harry took the offered opening, "Black itself is not dark by default. If it was then why would our school robes be mostly black? Are we all dark witches and wizards in training simply because of the colour of our clothes?" he asked Padma. "Black is just another colour, we decide what the colour actually means, just as much as the magical decides what the effects of a spell are."

Seeing an opening in the discussion, she spoke up to defend her suggestion, rather than just relying on Harry to do so for her. "Black _is_ simple and elegant, and Harry's right about spells. Sure there are some darker areas of magic, but most magic is simply grey or neutral. The Ministry's idea of dark arts is flawed and incomplete. In fact most so-called 'dark arts' spells are just dangerous combat spells that were designed for times of war. Most of those spells were made when the world was a far more violent place. The truth is that most spells and magics that are classified as dark today by the Ministry are because they were too dangerous or too powerful for the average witch or wizard to even perform successfully. In times past they weren't dark or illegal to perform at all. The simple fact is that people like Ron Weasley are the reason that they are banned today. Someone like him saw just what the spell was meant to do, what it was capable of, and decided that it was too dangerous and powerful. Incidentally, it was a person just like him who found that they were incapable of casting that spell themselves, thus it was banned, to prevent everyone else from learning magics that they themselves could not control or do, lest it be used against them," she lectured to the group, recalling everything her father had said on the subject, when she had asked about what the dark arts were.

A polite cough was then heard causing everyone to look towards Harry, "I believe we are getting off point here, we can debate the reason why the dark arts are banned and everything else another time. I think the point that Daphne is trying to make is that black is not dark or evil by default. Since it is obvious we are not going to reach an agreement right now, how about we leave the issue of a colour scheme for another time."

She watched with mixed emotions as the rest of the small group nodded their agreement to Harry's suggestion.

"Good." Harry purred before walking around the room, running his middle finger along the surface of an old piece of furniture, picking up a trail of dust and grime. "How about we make this place suitable for the living once again and get on with our revising. However, I do have some quick points I would like to make first," he said, before waiting to see if he had their full attention before continuing. "First, since this is our private place and we've agreed to keep it secret, I think we all should agree with each other before we reveal this place to another person," this quickly received another round of nods from everyone. "Second, I want to talk to you about an obscure branch of magic that is commonly called the 'mind arts.'"

As she expected, this question caused Tracy and Padma to give Harry confused looks, whilst the former showed a hint of curiosity as well. It also confirmed her earlier hunch that Harry was indeed studying the supremely difficult skill and was the reason for the book at Christmas, to help pave the way for learning it, without otherwise revealing it. "Padma, Tracy, the mind arts are a branch of magic that can allow someone to see another person's thoughts. On the flip side, it also allows you to defend your own mind from other wizards and witches trained in that skill. But it has many side benefits as well, such as making your memory better, making it easier to recall information, to better control your emotions, to numb pain, to resist the magical allures used by creatures such as vampires or veela, and to fight against compulsion charms," Harry explained to the listening pair. "With enough practice and proficiency, it also will keep Professor Snape from nosing around in your minds with impunity," this information caused several shocked expressions.

"It's true," she seconded.

**Midnight Lord**

The next couple of weeks quickly flew by for Harry as the end of year exams quickly approached, the small group spending most of their free time in their secret study area.

They had still yet to decide on the colour scheme of the room, but it was clear that Daphne was working her hardest to win them over to her idea. Harry had eventually agreed that it would look good after she had sketched up a couple of preliminary designs, as long as it was tasteful and not too old fashioned. But so far the back wall was going be storage space, filled with shelves and cupboards. In the centre of the room they were going to have a black rug, with a series of sofas and armchairs, plus a couple of tea tables for food and drinks. All in all, it was going to look amazing once it was completed.

During all of this he was giving them extra help in revising for charms and transfiguration, either helping to explain the theory behind it, or advising them how to do a specific spell. Of course, he didn't do it for them; he just advised them since he obviously couldn't do the exam for them. He was also helping to guide them through various meditation techniques, so that his friends could take the first steps to learning the mind arts. This would benefit them for many years to come.

The short, but shocking conversation about Professor Snape and the aging headmaster having the rare ability to read your mind went over as well as could be expected, causing Tracy and Padma to become very much interested in learning the mind arts. Of course, in Padma's case, it was a foregone conclusion once she learned that it would allow her to better retain her precious knowledge, meaning she would only have to read a book a couple of times to have close to total perfect recall of it. That would win any true Ravenclaw over to the idea, no matter how difficult the journey to proficiency.

He had yet to talk to Penny about her own progress in learning the skill, but he knew she was doing well, since she was meditating far more in recent weeks. Obviously she was making inroads in the skill. Plus she seemed calmer and less emotional overall, that suggested she was gaining control of her emotions. All this also reminded him that he needed to spend a day or two within his codex, just sorting out his knowledge and filing it away in the right sections in his own 'mind library.' Like anything else it needed to be maintained to remain effective, and cleared of the inevitable 'junk information' that always accumulated. Considering the all important task, he decided to do his mental sorting just before his end of year exams so that he could spot any holes in his knowledge base. The task would also help to clear his mind, mentally refreshing him, which would hopefully ensure that he got better results in the exams. Additionally, he had yet to finalize his housing arrangements for the summer.

Thinking about the upcoming summer holidays, his excitement rose at the idea of having a summer to truly enjoy himself, one without the abusive, hateful Dursleys ruining it for him. He was sorely tempted to try to hire a couple of tutors for the summer so that he could push ahead with his magical studies, but undoubtedly they would ask questions about where his guardians were, which made the idea untenable if he wished to keep his newly attained independence and freedom from being taken away. So, unfortunately for him, he would have to rely solely on books and self-study.

He also wondered if he could go overseas for a couple of weeks, just to see the wider world rather than just reading about it from various books, since he had never been on holiday before. Again, realistically, he knew that there was no way an 11 year old boy would be allowed to travel the world without adult supervision. It would just be too suspicious. Attracting that kind of attention was the last thing he could afford right now. Despite the fact that he knew he couldn't travel, it didn't stop him from wondering where he would go if he actually had a choice, Egypt perhaps? Italy? Greece? There were so many appealing options; he didn't know where he would start even if he could.

He sighed at this line of thinking... sometimes he really did hate being only 11 years old, when he was far more mature than his age would normally suggest.

He also wondered if he was 17 whether Professor Snape would still act like a childish bully towards him, knowing that Harry could put him in his place if he went too far. Once again he wished that he was older than he was. The unsavoury potion master was becoming an increasing headache of late; regularly trying his considerable patience. The worst part was that the man was routinely breaking the law, and yet he couldn't do anything about it. While he was more than willing to endure the man's verbal jabs, since the man's words were amusing in how pathetic they were, he needed to find a way to stop the potion master's regular assaults on his mind.

Turning his mind to the problem at hand, he was certain that there was some type of rule that existed that could be exploited in this situation. After all, Hogwarts had been open for over a thousand years, so surely there had been a situation just like this in that long history.

So all in all he was in a rather mixed mood, as the spring term ended and the summer holiday began.

**Midnight Lord**

The final game of the quidditch season had ended just as he had predicted, and had brought him a good 20 galleons from the various small bets he had made and won with the Ravenclaw team losing to the Gryffindor lions. While he was naturally disappointed that his own house team had lost, the outcome of the match was a foregone conclusion, anyone with an ounce of objectivity could have seen that result coming a mile off. The main reason was that most of the Ravenclaw quidditch team had spent their limited free time revising and studying for exams rather than training, whilst the Gryffindors on the other hand had spent their time training rather than revising.

The simple truth was that it was the metaphorical house of books versus the house of sports. You didn't have to be a genius to see how that was going to end up. Despite the fact that he was disappointed that his house's team had lost, he didn't feel at all guilty for betting against his house team. It just proved many of his theories. Besides, gold was gold, and he wasn't going to waste a chance to get more of it, no matter the sum. If his fellow ravens actually made some effort to actively train, rather than just compete out of simple obligation and peer pressure, then he would bet on them. But if they were going to only make a light-hearted effort, he didn't see the point in throwing away good money on a pointless bet.

On another note, he didn't expect Ravenclaw's chances of winning to change next year either, not with two highly experienced seventh year players leaving the squad for good when they graduated. But it did present him with an opportunity he could exploit, since it would open up a couple of slots on the team's rotation.

Naturally, he wanted to try his hand at the game, to see what the big deal was about for himself, rather than watching from the stands as the 'cool' kids played. His main reason for wanting to play quidditch was simple, quidditch players were popular even if they lost the game and they were even more popular if they won. That popularity was easily converted into more influence and respect around the school, and they quickly became favourites with the professors. And all this ultimately meant more power, and he wanted power, he wanted respect, and he wanted influence.

He knew that he wasn't the most popular first year; especially since he had given almost his entire year group the cold shoulder due to their laziness and immature attitude that was so common for his age group. Sure, everyone knew that he was smart, if not the smartest student in their year, but he was smart enough to realize that brains only got you so far in life. Being popular and likeable was a much bigger factor in achieving success. If he became a successful quidditch player then it would help grow his personal influence within Ravenclaw, as well as in the school as a whole, even if he was only a partly successful one.

Considering the two open slots on the team rota, he could try out for either the seeker or chaser position with good chances. Both openings were equally appealing for a number of different reasons. He felt the seeker position fit him best though, as it offered the most reward for his efforts, but it would also be the most sought after position. Plus he knew he could handle the seeker position, he had already successfully chased down the flying key whilst being chased in turn by hundreds of other keys on the third floor whose sole propose was to cause him bodily harm, thus proving he had the ability to seek, even under acute pressure. It sounded like the ideal position for him. If that fell through he could always try out for the position of chaser, but the seeker position would be his ultimate goal, since it was so high profile. The seeker was pretty much the deciding factor in most amateur games after all. This gave him another objective for the summer holidays, practicing his flying.

**Midnight Lord**

The next week passed tediously slowly as their classes turned towards revision for the upcoming exams, which was rather pointless for him. However, it did give him the opportunity and free time to check his bases, but with the increasing tension forming within Ravenclaw house, as pressure to get high exam results steadily grew, an unofficial party was thrown to help relieve the bubbling tension before it exploded.

The party was organised by the senior prefects and had the unofficial, silent backing of Professor Flitwick, but it was a rather mild, rather tame affair, as his housemates let their hair down for the single night. The 'unofficial' party also served as an unofficial victory party for the up and coming win of the house cup, which Harry personally thought was jinxing fate, since they still had another couple months left of the school year. But he could hardly blame his housemates for such a belief with their massive point lead over the other houses. Nevertheless he enjoyed the party, even if the music was horrible, and far too out of date for his personal tastes, given his musical palette was still strongly influenced by the muggle culture he had grown up in. Predictably, their head of house turned up just half past ten sending them to bed, ending the official/unofficial party.

With the quidditch cup decided for another year, everyone's attention turned towards the house cup, as the four houses' attention and focus shifted.

Naturally, with the Slytherins defeat on the quidditch pitch, the head of Slytherin house was particularly unjust, as the potion master attempted to rob the other houses of their points, using any excuse, no matter how contrived, to justify taking points to even the imbalance. One such feeble excuse was 'turning the mixing spoon too loudly,' costing Ravenclaw 3 points, much to the class' disbelief.

Of course this devious tactic didn't go unnoticed by the other heads of house, who responded in kind with a wide range of different tactics, their own head of house returning fire with a vengeance. It quickly got to the point that every time Professor Snape took house points unfairly, Flitwick would give them twice as many points back, 'for being helpful' or 'having the right study ethic,' and other such minor things.

Thanks to this clever tactic, Ravenclaw had already gained an additional 68 points from this 1-2 ratio, making him wonder how long it would last before the potions master realized what was happening and would stop his point shaving.

Even with all of this Ravenclaw's lead was gradually extending, with their house point total nearing the 800 point mark with the Hufflepuffs following in second with a good 550 points. Slytherin was in third place by less than half a dozen points, with a total of 453 to Gryffindor's 447. He knew, though, that Gryffindor would retake third place soon enough, just as soon as the head of Gryffindor had a chance to look at the recent point reductions and retaliated in turn.

He turned his attention back to his mother's journal resting on his lap, instead of revising like the rest of his year mates and friends. He was taking the night off to relax, more than confident that he would ace his exams with minimal effort on his part. How could he not be? He all but had a mental copy of all the textbooks he had read in his codex. Plus, he still had over a week left until the exams started anyways, so that was close to 168 hours give or take, so more than enough time to do some quick recaps if necessary.

He was currently rereading his mother's private journal, more specifically her 6th year at Hogwarts, the year she started to become friends with his father and his father's closest friends.

Reading his mother's words, the elegantly written script easily held his attention, but with every word he read he felt himself getting closer and closer to his long dead mother. His heart started to ache once more at the unjust loss. However the one thing he couldn't fully understand was how his father's best friend, Sirius, Harry's godfather, had gone from being a loyal, trustworthy friend, to turncoat and betrayer... Of course, many things could have happened over the years, to turn a once close friend to foe, so it was certainly possible that something had happened to split the pair apart.

Another thing he took note of were the small, but regular references to a magical map which could track people around Hogwarts. He reread the relevant journal entry for the third time.

'_Remus is my partner for the end of year rune project, which isn't too bad, at least I can count on him to pull his weight. The idea he had was most interesting. It was so ambitious and original that we surely will get an O for our efforts, if we can pull it off, that is. The idea is to make a magical map, whose purpose is to show real time locations of people around the school, for any building the map is enchanted to. At first we considered the idea of applying tracking charms to everyone, but that wouldn't work, the charms would fade too fast, and so many active charms of the same type, in a single structure, would create inevitable interference._

_The more I consider the project, the more I think we may have overextended ourselves. It's just too difficult, too ambitious for our level of magical knowledge, but if we could make this map, it could be so very useful and have so many possible applications._

_The ability to track and identify individuals in real time could easily be used as a tool to help fight against the dark lord and his death eaters, who rely on deception and their secret identities to mask their actions. We could finally know the true names behind the masks; it could also be used to detect polyjuiced infiltration agents if we could make it work properly._

Considering everything he knew about the map, as he mentally pieced together all the small facts and references he came across in his mother's journal, he quickly concluded that the magical map was probably in the same place it had been since it was confiscated by the caretaker in his father and mother's final year at Hogwarts. That meant it was safely stored away in the caretaker's storeroom somewhere, if it hadn't been destroyed or disposed of.

He didn't have to think too long or hard to decide that the map itself was far too useful to simply be ignored, if it could be recovered with some effort. It would help him to navigate around Hogwarts while having the ability to easily avoid people during his midnight walks. The map would also give him the ability to find people easier around the school, rather than just walking around aimlessly, trying to find someone. It would also prove to be extremely useful for any of his future security needs, if he could copy the runes and methods used to originally create it. He could then create a version for use in his own home later on, just like his mother believed, or even his future businesses and lands. The map could also be used to indirectly spy on people from his dorm room. Sure the map's ability to actually spy on someone was limited, but it could still prove useful. Even knowing which individuals were meeting together and for how long, had some value. Perhaps there was an alliance in the works, perhaps a conspiracy. The same was true for things like who was fucking each other or cheating on their significant other or who was in a relationship, even if just for blackmail purposes. Every bit of information had its value; it just might not be immediately clear what that was or if would prove useful in the short-term.

He made a mental note to himself; after the exams were complete, he would try to recover the map for himself one night. The deciding factor that finalized his decision to recover the map was that both his parents had a direct hand in creating it, and he wanted it for that reason alone.

He wanted another tangible piece of his mother and father's unofficial legacy.

**Midnight Lord**

It was kind of funny how the word 'exams' had different effects on different people. Some were in a near constant state of panic and fear, to the point that the school nurse was liberally dispensing doses of calming draught to the student body.

He took no small amount of pleasure watching several of his rivals and enemies panicking. However, while most of the school panicked, you could feel quite a bit of excitement building within Ravenclaw house, as all its members eagerly accepted the challenge of examinations. This was their time to shine. Much like the exams he had sat for in primary school, they had been called in by name and given their own individual sized square table in the great hall, before being handed anti-cheating quills and ink and their test paper, before then being given a prepared speech about the exam procedures.

The first examination had set the pace, building his self confidence to ever increasing heights with the terribly easy exam on charms theory. It was so easy, in fact, that it resulted in him finishing about half an hour ahead of everyone else in the room, which resulted in a self-satisfied smirk. Predictably, sitting in the middle of the great hall with a giant smirk on his face caused his head of house to come over and advise him to look over his exam paper again, which he had already done out of habit. Not that it was truly necessary, since he did effectively have a word for word copy of the issued textbook in his head. Naturally his casual dismissal of his head of house's concern caused the man to quickly look over his exam, before leaving with a somewhat shocked expression on his features. So obviously, his head of house had only just realized how far advanced he was. Or he had done really badly; but he sincerely doubted that.

Most of the exam questions were basic theory about individual spells, about the wand movements involved, or the charm's effects. So, all-in-all, pretty basic stuff. Upon leaving the great hall he quoted Darth Vader, "All too easy," he said, much to the ignorance of his year mates.

The history exam was simply boring, after all who really cared about goblin rebellions from 400 years ago? There were far more interesting things to study, like the history of the two most recent dark lords. That being said, he still put forth his best effort on the exam, despite thinking the whole time that wizard history was ridiculously biased, more often than not coloured with dismissive discrimination of those of the 'wrong' race and blood status. Despite this, he still answered the questions in the exact manner the examiners wanted to hear, even if it was not necessarily the truth. After all, sometimes you just had to pay lip service to the entrenched system to get the top spots, even if you didn't believe in it yourself.

Both his Charms, DADA, and Transfiguration practical exams he aced with flying colours, first with his ability to cast the spells silently, which caused quite a stir amongst his examiners and supervising professors, then he went a step further by showing off during the transfiguration exam. Throughout his transfiguration exam he displayed his advanced ability by giving all of his transfigured objects complex, but beautifully elegant designs, turning simple needles into pieces of art that looked like they had been crafted by famous artists. Then he went a step further and transfigured the needle into a working pocket watch, much to the surprise of his examiner and transfiguration professor who were both watching in awe. During his 'showing off' he explained the magical theory behind it, whilst giving his own minor insights into the spell's inner workings, before going further and discussing the relevant second year magical theory and the reasons why gold was almost impossible to transfigure. Yes, he was showing off, but he wanted to show just how far along he was in his magical studies, since he had always been forced to hold back his academic prowess at his relatives for fear of a beating. The simple truth was that he wanted recognition for his hard earned skill.

The only exam he had problems with was the potions exam practical, not because of the actual brewing, but because of the malicious meddling of the professor. The unjust professor had given him inappropriate ingredients for the requested potion, even then the ingredients were half rotten and entirely unsuited for brewing, which he pointed out to the examiner. Of course this only resulted in him losing 100 house points for making a 'disruption,' with Snape singling him out during the exam for making an unnecessary fuss... It was truly amazing what the man could get away with yet still keep his job.

Of course he was going to make a fuss! Bad ingredients not only meant a bad potion but radically increased the chance of an explosion. There was no way he was he going to lose the chance of getting high Os across the board so that he could shove it in Snape's twisted face. To make his exam efforts even more difficult, he also had to deal with the shady potion master hovering over him, trying to distract and unnerve him, presumably so that he'd make some critical mistake due to nerves. He got the house points back in the end, after marching straight out of the great hall and bursting into the deputy headmistress' ongoing lesson, demanding immediate action and justice for the blatant attempt to sabotage his examination. It was kind of funny now when he thought back on it, how he had stormed into the professor's classroom demanding action, whilst she was teaching a 5th year class. His anger and ranting had completely caught the experienced professor off guard, at the disappearance of the normally well mannered first year with a student raging out of control and filled with righteous indignation.

This recent 'incident' had finally been the tipping point, the final straw. Afterwards he immediately got a hold of a copy of the Hogwarts rules and regulations governing teacher's conduct. Of course getting a copy was harder said than done; there were no copies accessible to students in the library so he eventually just stole a copy from the Deputy Headmistress' office one night after noticing it just sitting on her shelf.

He quickly learnt that one option available to him was that he could get the potion master removed as his professor and get an independent one paid by the school to tutor him personally. He could also choose self study. Both of these options though required that he could show the abuse of power and position was consistent and over an extended period of time.

The first step in this process was to send an official letter of complaint, expressing in detail his complaints and grievances, signed by his parents or guardians. This was an issue considering the headmaster was his official guardian. In addition, he also had to document every incident with a date and estimated time, as well any witnesses to the incident, which was easily doable given that he had a classroom full of them for each one of the incidents. But a classroom full of kids was hardly reliable and could be potentially dismissed. This had been confirmed by Madam Bones' own advice on gathering evidence to support his claims of illegal legilimency use by the professor. His two goals were mutually connected, proving one would help prove the other and thus strengthen both individual cases.

Considering his original plan for a moment, he decided to hand in his letter of complaint at the end of term for several reasons; first, it would give him additional time to gather indisputable evidence and reliable eyewitnesses. Second, it would allow him to be away from Hogwarts when the complaint was lodged, thus preventing the ever spiteful Snape from attempting to make his life miserable in retaliation. And finally, he wanted to cause the potion master a last minute headache, and thus ruin the man's own summer holiday plans if possible. It was a small bit of revenge, but one he thought well worth it.

Of course he would sign the complaint with his Potter heir ring, in order to make it as official as possible, so it couldn't simply be otherwise ignored, like he privately expected so many other complaints of this type had been in the past.

After all, he was the sole heir to one of the oldest magical families in Great Britain; they couldn't afford to ignore him. Well, he hoped that they couldn't afford to ignore him. Furthermore, he planned to send another copy of the complaint to Madam Bones, as well as the Daily Prophet, hoping the magical newspaper would be interested in the story and add the scrutiny of public opinion to the Hogwarts staff.

He could already see the headline.

"_Potion Master Uses Forbidden Dark Arts to Steal his Students' Secrets" or "Potion Master Mind Rapes Students," or "Potion Master Sabotages Students' Education." _

Or something along those lines, with big damning pictures of Professor Snape on the front page. This would surely cause a stir amongst the wider populace, making the professor's transgressions and well known abuses of power far harder to overlook and ignore by the headmaster. And even if the Headmaster could get it overlooked, the price in political capital would be inordinately high. He was pretty sure that the other old families would also protest against the man's continued employment at the school, not out of concern for him, of course, but out of self-interest and fear that their own family's dirty secrets could be easily lifted from their children's unprotected minds by the unsavoury professor, rather than his terrible teaching and unprofessional conduct.

He predicted that he had a fairly good chance at actually being successful with his plan as it stood now, since his plan did cover most avenues of attack. It all hinged on whether he could gain enough evidence to support his claims, as well as the needed political support to make sure the charges were very difficult to ignore.

Like with everything else in his life, he understood that it would take time and careful planning to succeed. It had taken him both time and good fortune to finally escape his hateful, abusive relatives, but he had done it in the end, so he understood the need for patience and to seize opportunities as they came available. Nevertheless, if everything went according to plan he hoped that by the end of the summer holidays he would finally get Snape off his back, or even better, the professor locked up in a jail cell for the next decade.

He didn't care which, as long as he was shot of the man for good.

**Midnight Lord**

With the term rapidly drawing to a close and the student body finally free of the burden of exams, the freed student populace of Hogwarts was spending more and more time relaxing outside the castle's walls, enjoying the summer sun as the days grew steadily warmer. However, all was not well, it was only by chance that he happened to overhear Neville, Ron, Dean, Seamus, or as some of the older students called them, the 'golden foursome,' talking in the library about them attempting to stop Snape from stealing the 'Philosopher's Stone that Fluffy was guarding on the third floor.' Unsurprisingly, this made Harry question his own adventures on the third floor the previous Christmas, and to reconsider the true purpose of the enchanted mirror he had stolen. Was the mirror the real prize? Or was it just a safeguard created to protect this _stone_?

Given his inquisitive nature, he was half tempted to follow the four Gryffindors and see what happened to them. But he realized at the same time that if he went back down there and got caught, a likelihood with those four, then it would bring unwanted attention upon himself, and possibly raise some uncomfortable questions as to just how he knew so much about the third floor's defences. This would likely lead to his involvement in stealing the mirror being discovered. That was not something he could afford at this point.

Therefore, the safe bet was to just ignore it and allow the _golden foursome_ to deal with it on their own, rather than risk revealing his own involvement. If they didn't die, he'd likely hear about it through the rumour mill anyway. Snorting in amusement at his own thoughts, he really had to come up with another title for the group of lions, rather than continuing to use 'golden foursome.' After having received a rather detailed sex 'talk' from the mischievous Tonks, terms like 'foursome' had new meanings. After all, he had no need for such imagery to be floating around in his mind. He mentally cursed Tonks' name once again for tainting his mind. He had to admit, though, that it was kind of funny watching the four going around embracing the title wholeheartedly, totally unaware of what foursome actually meant. The question arose as to what they'd be called if Granger was added to their group...Thankfully, no words came to mind to describe the five of them in such a lascivious manner, before the word _gang-bang_ mockingly floated into his head, causing him to violently curse Tonks once more for what she had done to him, for tainting his once clean mind. He banished these thoughts to the back of his mind, making a mental note to lock such stuff away in a forbidden section of the codex, at least until he was older.

Anyways, it was clear that the Lions were going to do something based on their raised voices, causing the stern faced librarian to head over to confront them, before kicking them out with a look of glee on her face.

So, the question was what should he do now?

He thought over everything he had overheard from behind the book stack. He quickly recapped. First, it made no sense to involve himself and possibly expose his actions over Christmas, yet at the same time the traps could be fatally dangerous and potentially kill the four of them. While he didn't consider them to be his friends, it would be for the best to warn a staff member of the group's intentions. After all, there were two huge trolls, a Cerberus, a man eating plant, a murderous chess set, flying keys who aimed to impale trespassers, and poison at the end... And frankly he didn't consider the lions competent, skilled or patient enough to overcome the defences methodically, like he had.

He finally decided to talk to his head of house about what he had overheard, so that the staff could ultimately handle the situation. This way, if worse came to worst, he wouldn't feel guilty if one of them did actually get themselves eaten by Fluffy the Cerberus. Besides, if he timed things right, he could use the lions as a distraction for the staff, as he tried to recover the enchanted map from the caretaker's office, whilst the professors were busy dealing with the lions. Who knew what else he could find in the caretaker's storage room? After all, it would be far easier to crack than the 3rd floor.

With his decision made, he decided to put his plan into immediate action as he left the now quiet library in search of his energetic head of house.

**Midnight Lord**

He waited patiently outside the charms' classroom for the current class to end, which he noted was his friend Penny's class. He was currently sitting across from the doorway waiting in a cross legged lotus position, using the free time to once again think over everything he had just overheard in the library. At the first opportunity he would have to look over the stolen magical mirror again, in case he had missed something by mistake or out of ignorance. As skilled as he was he knew he was still woefully ignorant of many things concerning magic.

Then he thought more about Professor Snape, the lion's current prime suspect. At first glance the potion master looked like a prime candidate for stealing the 'stone.' After all the guy was foul, a bully, and acted and dressed like many of the prototypical villains he had seen in the movies, like wearing full black and exuding the menacing aura of a dark wizard. At the same time he was the so called death eater who had turned spy at great personal risk, based on everything Daphne had heard about the professor from her parents, who had curiously warned her about the potions master before even starting school. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't know much more about the man, besides that he was once a good friend of his mother's before they had a major falling out when Snape had called his mother a mudblood. But in the movies, and most books, it was never the one you expected, the obvious one. It was always the quiet, brooding ones, that were the masterminds, the main villain, as he thought about Darth Sidious from Star Wars, as he made several uncomfortable comparisons with the aging headmaster. There were a lot of similarities there, that's for sure.

Whatever the truth was, whether villain or hero, the potions master was under the headmaster's protection, a man who was arguably the most powerful wizard in the whole of Europe, if the papers were to be believed. This claim was due to his personal magical prowess and knowledge, as well as his significant political influence, both in Britain and abroad. He had serious doubts that an educated man such as professor Snape would betray Dumbledore lightly, especially when Snape owed Dumbledore for his freedom to this day. Sure the Philosopher's Stone offered endless wealth and eternal life, and that would surely tempt one to betray even the best of friends, but the headmaster didn't strike him as a fool. The elderly wizard would surely be certain of the man's loyalties before allowing him to be so close to such a valuable object, as well as letting the professor set his own defences in the form of a potion based riddle.

So that made the shady potion master an unlikely candidate for the role of thief, but it wouldn't surprise him if Professor Snape did have some designs to steal the stone, assuming a chance arose to do it without revealing himself as the culprit. After all, it wouldn't be good to have the most powerful wizard in Europe hunting you. Before he could continue his mental examination of the situation, the classroom door opened.

Standing up quickly before he could be crushed by the sudden onrush of student bodies, he pressed himself up against the cold stone wall as Penny suddenly noticed him. He gave a slight wave to his older friend, who returned the wave with her free hand. "Harry, were you waiting for me?" she asked cheekily.

Smiling back at his friend as he answered, "I'm afraid not, but it's always good to see you of course, I just needed to have word with our head of house." He made a gesture towards the open door, noticing moments later a minor frown of disappointment appeared on Penny's features before he continued. "You can join me if you'd like? Then we can go do something if you want?" he offered.

"Sure," Penny replied back, before following him back into the charms' classroom.

"Harry, Penny, what can I help you with? You should already know that I can't give you your exam results before anyone else, that would be unfair," asked Professor Flitwick in his classic hyperactive manner that Harry had come to expect as normal from the charms professor. He privately wondered just how many sugar cubes the short professor normally put in his tea.

"No, it's not that, I already know I did well," he answered back with a confident smile, before he turned serious. "I just wanted to report a serious matter that may concern several students' safety," this caused the professor's easy smile to disappear, to be replaced with a serious frown.

"What is it you wanted to report Harry; I doubt you would waste my time otherwise?" The head of Ravenclaw house replied seriously, putting his papers to one side, before giving him a firm look that distinctly reminded him of Bloodmoon.

"It involves the 3rd floor and Fluffy the Cerberus," he offered back to the professor casually before continuing. "I overheard earlier today, whilst I was in the library studying, that Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan, believe that Professor Snape is going to steal the Philosopher's Stone tonight, since the Headmaster has gone away on unexpected business. They have foolishly got it into their minds that they it's their duty to personally stop him and play the role of hero, rather than telling a professor of their concerns," he answered with a strong dose of disapproval clear in his voice, revealing as much knowledge as possible that could be explained merely from eavesdropping on the group.

It took the charms master a couple of seconds to compose himself before responding to Harry's concerns, "I'll have a word with their head of house, as well as make sure the prefect patrols tonight are watching out for them. That being said, I seriously doubt that Professor Snape is going to try to steal the stone, the Headmaster trusted the man with its defence," Professor Flitwick answered seriously, defending his fellow teacher despite the potion master's pathetic attempts over the years at sabotaging his own house's chance at winning the house cup.

He gave the charms' master a calculating smile, "I agree with your assessment, Professor Snape is an extremely unlikely candidate, but I still think this situation needs to be taken seriously, and a teacher should keep watch over it tonight, just to prevent an attempt on the off-chance that the danger is real. Plus it wouldn't do for some little Gryffindors to be eaten by a big, bad, hungry Cerberus now would it?" Harry replied thoughtfully.

"What is the philosopher's stone?" Penny suddenly asked in an interested manner, having taken one of the seats at the front desks, whilst watching the unfolding exchange.

"It's an extremely powerful magical artefact, a product of the most advanced alchemy, which is rumoured to be able to turn any base metal into gold and produce a substance known as the 'Elixir of Life,' which offers the drinker eternal life," Harry replied automatically without thinking, causing both the shocked professor and Penny to suddenly look at him anew. Penny just nodded after that, accepting his explanation at face value.

The head of Ravenclaw once again recovered his wits, before responding to Harry's explanation, "Indeed Mr. Potter, well said, take 20 house points for Ravenclaw for excellent knowledge of rare magical items. Now tell me why you don't think Professor Snape is a concern?" the short professor asked.

Considering the professor's question, he decided to be candid, "The short version is that the man is far too obvious, as everyone would pick him as the classic villain at first glance, due to his atrocious and widely known attitude. At the same time, Professor Snape is the head of Slytherin, nothing here implies even a semblance of cunning or subtlety, especially if a group of first years can work out that it was him. If he could steal it without revealing himself as the culprit, I have no doubt he would. After all, who wouldn't be tempted with the possibility of eternal life and endless riches, but the cold hard fact is that Professor Snape wouldn't last long without the Headmaster's protection. And I seriously doubt Professor Snape would risk spending the rest of his life behind bars, unless he was certain he could get away with it. After all, he does have many powerful enemies, the only reason he isn't in Azkaban already is because of the Headmaster's protection, and his word that he was the headmaster's agent in the Death Eaters," Harry answered thoughtfully, as his head of house simply nodded in response, accepting his argument.

"Very well reasoned I must say, I assume you know of Professor Snape's past then?" Professor Flitwick probed, obviously testing him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Penny was listening carefully, all but forgotten by the professor in his questioning of Harry. "To a point, before I came to Hogwarts I looked into most of the staff via public record and other sources," Harry offered back to his head of house before continuing.

"In fact, I looked into all of the staff's backgrounds and credentials to judge how good the standard of teaching was here, but Professor Snape caused me to investigate further, as he was my mother best friend until their 6th year. They had a falling out after Professor Snape called my mother a 'mudblood' it seems. Then it came to light that the man was one of Lord Voldemort's inner circle during the war, but was allegedly spying for the headmaster. He's never been officially questioned about what he did during the war, under veritaserum or otherwise. Naturally I dug further and with the help of a few others like Miss Greengrass, learned more about Professor Snape's questionable past. That is the reason why I'd seriously doubt that he would betray the Headmaster and risk losing his protection; there are just too many people that would wish him dead," he explained before looking over to Penny.

His friend's face had gone deathly white, clearly only now realizing that the potion master was probably a cold hearted killer and murderer, based on the stories of the death eaters that floated around.

Professor Flitwick suddenly remembered that Penny was present in the room, "Well, yes, that is true Harry, however I must ask that you two not spread this around. Professor Snape made several foolish mistakes in his youth, mistakes he now truly regrets I think. He got pulled into the ranks of the death eaters due to his own friends and former housemates being active members. In those dark times you were either with them or against them. However, he turned his back on the death eaters and started spying for the headmaster at great personal risk to himself; You-Know-Who was not kind to traitors and spies. The information he provided was very useful and helped saved some lives," Professor Flitwick explained, trying to reassure them.

The charms professor upon seeing that his words were having little effect, changed tactics, "Professor Snape is perfectly safe and the headmaster has absolute faith in the man. If I personally believed he was dangerous to you, I would have vehemently protested his continued employment at the school, I assure you," their head house expressed, trying again to reassure them.

Harry was tempted to argue the point about the professor being safe, but decided to leave it be for now. While the professor's words had little effect on him, they had the desired effect on Penny who visibly relaxed.

"Now, I will keep an eye on the third floor tonight and speak with Professor McGonagall about her young cubs," the head of Ravenclaw stated. "Out of interest, who do you think is the real thief then, instead of our resident potions master?"

It didn't take much time for him to come up with an answer, there was only one other candidate in his book, if it was an inside job. "Professor Quirrell would be my first choice sir; my gut feeling is that the man is hiding something. I think he's acting, putting on a show with that fake stutter, hiding his true strength, like a snake hiding in the long grass, just waiting to strike at the right moment."

"Why do you say that Harry?" Penny asked, beating the professor to the question.

At first he was going to say that it was exactly what he would do, hiding his true strength and ability behind a false mask. That was one of the many reasons why the sorting hat wanted to put him into Slytherin, "Professor Quirrell reminds me too much of a predator hiding itself as prey, in short, a wolf in sheep's clothing, waiting for the time to strike all the while being overlooked, only acting when his target's back is turned and exposed," Harry answered.

"He just gives me that vibe, and that stutter of his feels forced..."

**Later That Day**

Night had finally fallen over the school, making him wonder if the foolish lions would still try their collective luck tonight at tackling the 3rd floor and its defences. Not that it really mattered to him, he had dutifully passed along the information to the staff clearing him of all responsibility if someone actually got hurt or killed. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that though, he may dislike the Gryffindors, but he had no desire to see them dead, even if it would help the human species' gene pool.

Now he just had to wait for Penny to leave his dorm room, so he could finally gear up and head out after the map, and whatever other treasures he could find in the caretaker's storage room. But, every minute he was in here waiting for Penny to leave was one less minute he could spend looking for the map.

Looking over his shoulder in the direction of his friend, who was once again reading his book on the mind arts for what seemed like the 100th time, even though he knew it was not. It was actually the 12th time, but the point was the same. He wasn't annoyed at her for reading one of his books, he was fine with that, it was rather the fact that Penny was preventing his 'raid' on the lockup from taking place. Another little thing that annoyed him was that Penny and Padma always chose to take his bed, leaving him to make do with his armchair.

Considering his plan once again, he had already scouted out the caretaker's office earlier that day under the guise of handing in a lost remembrall that he had 'found.' He had also found the quickest, most hidden route to and from the caretaker's office, exclusively using the hidden passage ways around the school, whilst avoiding the third floor.

After all he couldn't tell _her_ now could he? It was her job as prefect to help enforce the school rules, but he remembered the oath, the magical vow she swore not to reveal his secrets, therefore logically, she could not help but keep her peace on this issue...

Before he could say anything she suddenly spoke up, "What's bothering you tonight Harry, you appear to be rather restless?"

He thought over what to say, he knew he trusted Penny far more than he did anyone else, he had even shared more of his secrets with her than any of his other friends, but he knew this enhanced trust stemmed mostly from the magical vow, the silent knowledge that she quite simply _couldn't_ betray his secrets. There was also the fact that she was more mature than his friends, so was easier to talk to since he was forced to grow up earlier than most. Even Daphne for all her maturity, and being trained as an heiress from a very young age, could still be very childish at times.

Furthermore, the cold hard truth was that Daphne, despite being a friend, would share his secrets if she saw a greater profit in it. So naturally he had no desire to share his secrets with her, on the off chance that their alliance ended and they went their separate ways or their interests no longer aligned. Anything was possible in the fullness of time.

"Well, I was planning a bit of a midnight adventure actually," he admitted with a mischievous smile. "I was going to try to retrieve something that was taken from my father while he was still at school," he answered.

"What do you mean by 'adventure?' You're not going to go wandering the halls like the lions are planning to do?" Penny accused, putting the book down while giving him her best stern look.

"Of course, but I won't get caught, unless you tell on me of course and spoil my fun," he answered cheekily, hoping that Penny would just let him go and not cause a big fuss about it.

"And let you wander the school halls and get lost, and get into trouble? You know you could easily fall if you miss a step and break a leg or even your neck?" She shot back.

He was touched that she cared, but he stopped himself from admitting that he had done it a dozen times before, before saying simply, "I doubt that would happen, that's what the _lumos_ charm is for," he said, as a grin grew on his features. "All I want to do is get something back from Filch that was taken from my father. Besides, I won't get caught, all the teachers and patrols tonight are circling mostly around the 3rd floor, and that's on the other side of the school. "I do have some advantages here."

"If you say so," Penny replied, dismissing the point as irrelevant.

He decided to take another approach, since it was obvious that the current one was failing miserably, "How about you come with me on this little adventure then? And make sure that I don't get into any trouble? Surely you'd like a bit of a thrill for once, rather than just reading books about adventures?" He challenged.

Her response was near immediate, "No! It could cost me my prefect badge and prevent me from being considered for the head girl position in a couple of years time," she answered seriously, giving him a sharp look, making it clear that she wasn't endangering that chance for this dubious plan. He decided to try another angle.

"Well, how about if we get caught, _I'll_ take the blame for the whole thing. And you can say you just went out to collect me and escort me back to the common room. After all, it is your job as prefect. No one will think twice about it, since it is something that most of the teachers would think you would do. After all _you_ are a _good girl_," Harry replied in a daring manner.

He let his point sink in before speaking again, to further reel her in, "Besides, think of the possible loot you could find. Sure, there's no magical stone offering eternal life and endless wealth likely, but I bet you could find something good that you might like, something that has been forgotten about for years."

Meeting her gaze, he could see her wrestling over the idea, clearly trying to decide what to do, as he decided to gently give her an extra nudge. "I promise we won't be caught; be naughty just this once, and don't be spoilsport like Percy is," he cajoled, hoping that comparing her to Percy would cause her decide to come with him. "Don't you want some exciting school stories to share when you're older?" He asked as Penny bit her lower lip.

"Ok, only this once, since we're going to try and find something which belonged to your father," she agreed. "But if we get caught you're taking all the blame, you understand?"

"Deal, but don't worry, we won't get caught," he replied smugly, whilst internally he was doing a little victory dance.

Walking over to his chest to get his invisibly cloak, he decided to show her one of his most cherished possessions. "This is one of my family's most cherished heirlooms; it has been in my family for centuries now. Some of my ancestors even believed that this was one of the three Deathly Hallows, but I ask you to keep that a secret; if anyone hears of it possibly being one of the Deathly Hallows, they may attempt to steal it, or even try to kill me for it," he said seriously.

Truthfully, he knew that it was more than likely one of the fabled Hallows since it carried the Deathly Hallows mark on its inside, but like with anything else it could possibly be just a clever fake. So he would just have to wait and see for himself. He didn't wait for a response since he knew that she would keep it secret, he had 'ordered' it and the companion oath would ensure she couldn't betray him.

Pulling out his wand, he quickly cast several concealment spells on himself, one to remove his scent and one to silence his boots, before performing the same spells on Penny, whilst explaining the purpose of each spell.

When he was done he asked his partner in crime a question, "Do you know the disillusionment charm?"

"I know it, but I've never had a real reason to use it," Penny admitted defensively.

"Well, may I suggest that you practice it sometime, because being able to disappear quickly and effectively may very well save your life one day if you are ever attacked. It could be very useful in a duel as well," Harry answered seriously, whilst remembering his last duelling session with Tonks, who had used the same charm to devastating effect the first couple of times. He eventually learnt a few little tricks to deal with it, such as flooding her side of the room with water. This allowed him to track her movement by splashes, or just listening for footsteps, or that tell-tale ripple in the air. However, he had learnt an important lesson with that charm, specifically that you can't easily defend yourself against an enemy you can't see or find.

He had given this advice to also encourage her rebellious side, hoping that this would encourage Penny further.

Putting the invisibility cloak over himself so that his body disappeared, leaving just his head visible, he patiently waited for Penny to disillusion herself. It took her a good dozen tries or so before she had successful cast the charm on herself. "Put your hand on my shoulder and I'll guide you tonight, I know a number of useful secret passageways around the school that avoid the main corridors," he stated, as Penny's warm hand found his shoulder.

"Let's go then,' he stated, and their _adventure_ began.

**End of Chapter**


	16. Y1 Traps, Raids, and a Darklord

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord **

**Chapter 16: A Trap is Set, Raiders are Raiding, **

**And a Dark Lord is Revealed**

**Reposted 19th March 2014**

**Revised and Beta'd by 'Joe Lawyer'**

Albus was man who prided himself on his consummate self-control, but he couldn't help but to pace backwards and forwards across the wooden floor of the Shrieking Shack, anxiously waiting for the ward alarms to trigger, alerting him to Tom's agent finally making his move to steal the fake philosopher's stone. He was apprehensive for good reason, as every detail of his plan had to work out just perfectly for it to be successful in the end.

As such, he had taken the extra precaution of ordering a house elf to watch Neville and his friends throughout the whole evening, as a backup plan of sorts. The house elf had been ordered to report to him the _very_ moment it was sure the boy had started making his way towards the forbidden 3rd floor corridor.

He privately suspected that it was Professor Quirrell who was currently being used as a host for Lord Voldemort's disembodied soul, and had been since his return after Christmas break, mainly due to the number of unnatural unicorn deaths in the forest and Quirrell's absence from the school halls for unexplained periods of time in the evenings after lessons were finished for the day as the professor left the halls on 'personal' business. He hadn't been able to prove it definitively, of course, since the spells needed were far too complex and time consuming to cast discreetly in a staff meeting, nor could he assign a watcher to observe the professor without risking alerting Professor Quirrell/Voldemort to his suspicions, which would jeopardize his carefully calculated trap. And furthermore, he had little doubt that at the first sign of a trap that the shade of Voldemort would bolt the castle faster than he could say the word 'quidditch.'

He could possibly be wrong and an outsider was involved, somehow finding a way to get past the school's numerous security wards without being detected, and the deaths of unicorns in the forbidden were an unfortunate consequence of a desperate, misguided wizard trying to delay death, but he considered it the far lesser of probabilities, but not outright impossible. Few things were truly impossible when it concerned magic.

It was clear the knowledge that the _real_ philosopher's stone had been stolen months earlier had not spread to the wider magical community. Besides the thief or thieves themselves, only he, his assistants, and his personal friend Severus knew that the real stone had been stolen over the Christmas Holidays. It had quickly become clear that the successful thief was keeping his triumph quiet rather than drawing attention to it, which suggested the master thief had some wisdom and foresight, otherwise they risked having their throat slit in the night and the stone being stolen from the robber in turn, which caused him to subconsciously stroke his elder wand.

This reprieve worked to his advantage, allowing him to keep his planned trap active, but it also meant that the stone would be supremely difficult to recover, or likely near impossible; in fact he lacked any leads for his people to investigate. The whole situation had turned into a major annoyance. After all, unlimited gold would have proven extremely useful in his plans and practically ensured the order's success in the upcoming war effort. For all he knew the stone could be on the other side of the world right now, hidden away in some backwater of a magical community.

Frankly, with no leads turned up by his followers and agents in all this time, he doubted the stone would ever be found in his lifetime, which rubbed his ego the wrong way. So many opportunities were lost with that setback.

Turning his mind back to the unfolding events, to help better monitor the situation he had discreetly moved several animated portraits around the surrounding corridors and placed a reliable portrait to watch over the third floor door specifically. This portrait was out of his private collection, hidden judiciously under a good number of disillusionment charms and powerful notice-me-not charms.

The portrait's enchanted counterpart was currently placed on the wall besides his desk, ready to report if _anyone_ approached the door.

He wasn't taking _any_ chances this time, especially after the mirror and consequently the real stone had been stolen right from under his nose. Frankly there was anything valuable left to steal this time. Everything had to go as planned tonight; this Merlin forsaken plan finally needed to come together and produce results.

Unfortunately, things had gotten far more complicated thanks to his staff's efforts, no matter how well-meaning. From the reports he had overheard from within the school's walls, Filius had ordered another house elf to watch the door as well and report back to him if anyone attempted to open it. He had even added his own spells to the door. From Severus he had even learned that several members of the staff were active and waiting in the staff room ready to respond immediately if the elf reported anything afoot.

This most certainly wasn't the way he had planned it, in fact it meant that there was an even better chance that the knowledge of Voldemort's continued survival would leak before everything was ready, before all of his pieces were in place, more than likely triggering the remaining loyal Death Eaters to seek out their master and thus hasten his return to full power, triggering the renewal of the war prematurely.

He quickly thought over the problem; his mind racing with ideas and scenarios, before eventually creating a quick, on the spot plan to work around these recent unexpected developments that threatened his current and future plans. He would have to get Fawkes to take him there, ahead of the responding staff and intercept them, then send them away to secure the rest of the castle and protect the students or some other excuse. He would then head off alone to confront the intruder, perhaps with Severus accompanying him to provide an additional witness. At the same time, even though inconvenient, he felt better knowing that his staff had recognized the possible danger and taken countermeasures, and were making at least some token efforts to guard the fake stone in his 'absence,' even if it was only having a couple of elves watching the door over the course of the evening. It was better than their combined efforts at Christmas, which had cost him so dearly, that was for certain.

All he could do now was wait and see, and hope that everything went in his favour.

**Midnight Lord**

Making his way through the hidden passageways liberally distributed throughout the entirety of the school, he used a faint, rather underpowered lumos charm to light the way for him and Penny, whilst he guided them towards the caretaker's office/storage room.

Eventually they reached the caretaker's office. It didn't take them nearly as long as it would normally to reach the isolated office since, surprisingly, there were no prefect patrols to avoid, nor teachers walking the school's halls. Thinking about his family's invisibility cloak, he focused his mind on becoming visible again so that Penny could see him. With his cloak's powers deactivated, it would appear to be just like any other old fashioned hooded cloak to any casual observer.

He had discovered purely by chance, after some extensive experimenting, that the cloak _could_ turn itself on and off based on his will and desire alone. With its invisibility powers deactivated it appeared to be a standard midnight black cloak unworthy of much attention. The ability to keep a powerful invisibility cloak on all the time, capable of being activated in a moment's notice, he knew, would serve him well throughout his life.

Looking in Penny's direction, where she was standing besides the door, he gave her some instructions. "Keep watch while I charge these rune stones," he instructed, bringing out the same rune stones he had used on the 3rd floor corridor over Christmas. He promptly began to charge them with far more power than he normally would, in order to take into account the extra person on this adventure, before unlocking the door with the standard unlocking charm. He idly wondered if the charm would work on all styles of muggle locks, including electronic ones.

Entering the office quickly and quietly, he did a quick check for any sign of the caretaker's presence, before he realized his own amateur mistake. He should have found a way to check for the caretaker's presence long before opening the door; fortunately for him, luck was on his side tonight.

Seeing no sign of the bitter old caretaker, he gestured with a flick of his head for Penny to follow him into the room before quickly relocking the office door behind them. He did a quick visual scan of the backside of the door, but found no sign of any runes being used to anchor any security wards. He noted this lack of security for the future; in case he fancied revisiting this place by himself.

The room was pretty much like any other office he had encountered over the year, with personal belongings scattered around the room, such as photos of friends and family. The caretaker's desk was positioned to one side, facing the door and corridor. Another door lead to a separate storage room behind him, with a series of black iron keys hanging on the wall behind the desk, besides the door. There was a second door, which he guessed likely led to the caretaker's personal living quarters.

Penny removed the disillusionment charm from herself before gesturing to the door on the left, speaking quietly. "You'll need a key from the rack," she offered, pointing to the set of keys hanging up behind the desk. "I _still_ can't believe you talked me into this."

"You can leave anytime you know, just _don't_ rat me out," he replied in a firm tone, not wanting to force his friend to continue if she didn't want to. Making his way quickly over to the key rack, he examined the keys before finding the one with a label underneath identifying it as the key for the 'lockup room.'

Opening the locked door revealed a massive storage room; in fact he couldn't see to the end of it, due to the darkness. Both walls were lined with wooden shelves and storage cupboards, only breaking for the occasional window, while another line of wooden shelves ran down the middle of the room, each one was laden with numerous random items.

Stepping into the gloomy room, his eyes darted side-to-side quickly even as he cast the _lumos_ charm once again. He decided to take the far right side near the windows, due to it being easier to see what was on the shelves with the tiny bit of moonlight coming in on that side of the room. Sparing a glance over his shoulder, he saw Penny still standing in the doorway, clearly battling with her insatiable Ravenclaw curiosity and her natural disposition to be a good girl who didn't break the rules. He was curious which would win out in the end.

"Are you coming in? Or are you just going to stand there like a lemon all night?" he teased lightly, as he stepped further into the room.

Looking over the many shelves he realized just how much _stuff_ had been confiscated over the years. He could see everything from simple stink bombs, joke sweets, and other harmless pranks, some 'randy' books and mundane magazines, such as Witch Weekly and Playwizard, lots of firewhiskey, some muggle footballs, pretty much everything you can imagine the students of a magical boarding school to have was here. Seeing just how much random stuff was in the room he doubted that he would find the magical map created by his father in just one night of searching, unless he could find a quick way to narrow down the search area.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to see that Penny was looking at the same set of shelves he was; he resisted the urge to grin at her interest and the fact her curiosity had won the battle, before a great idea came to mind.

"Penny, do you happen to know a spell which can be used to summon or locate a specific object?" he asked curiously, since he hadn't found any magic like that in any of his first or second year charms textbooks or supplements.

There was a pause as the older Ravenclaw considered his question, the light from his wand making her look rather pretty. "Yeah, but you have to tell me what you're looking for first so I can visualize the object," she clarified, nervously looking over her shoulder to check on the open door to the storage room.

He walked past the 5th year and shut the door behind her, "Penny, relax, as long as we don't make much noise, and do nothing to draw attention to ourselves, there's no reason for him to even come in here should he return," he argued, making sure the door was completely closed, not wanting any light to escape the room, not wanting to draw any attention to the door being unlocked. "The item I'm looking for is called the Marauders' Map. It's a map of the layout of the entire school, enchanted to show the position of anybody within Hogwarts' walls in real time," he explained.

Nodding her head in understanding, her blonde ponytail danced side to side as she flicked her wand purposefully through the still air, "_Accio Marauder's Map" _Penny voiced confidently. Unfortunately, _nothing_ happened, no movement, no sound of rattling, _nothing_. His first thought was that Penny had cast the spell incorrectly, but he truly doubted that that was the case, she was a very capable student and witch after all.

"Either it's not here, or it has an anti-summoning charm or enchantment on it, either way we have to search this room for it by hand," Penny explained, before looking around the room, then back at the door once again, in case they had been overheard.

"Ok. By the way, what year do you normally learn that charm?" he inquired, since he hadn't seen it in any of his books and it could prove very useful after all.

"It's a 4th year spell. All you need to do is generally visualize what you wish to summon and flick your wand like this. The targeted object's distance from the caster obviously changes how much magic it ultimately takes to successfully summon. And it's also important to remember that physical barriers, like closed doors or locked drawers between the summoned object and the caster, won't disappear merely because you summoned the item. With a bit more mental intent and experience with the charm you can change the way it comes to you, like making it come slower, or more gently, or stop in front of you when near or having the object go into a bag or box, etc." Penny explained with a text book worthy answer, effortlessly summoning one of the Witch Weekly magazines to her from a nearby shelf. He watched intently as the magazine came slowly towards Penny and hung in mid-air in front of her, in order for Penny to take hold of the magazine at her leisure.

"Well, let's continue to look around and see if we like the look of anything, no point wasting a trip here after all," he said boldly with a grin, before remembering about the door. "Maybe you should put a silencing charm on the door? And a notice-me-not charm as well?" he suggested to his co-conspirator, causing her to move into action after realizing how prudent those ideas were. He watched her intently as she cast the spells upon the door.

**Midnight Lord**

He had just received word that Neville had left the Gryffindor common room with his four chosen companions, with the seeming intent to stop the stone from being stolen by Professor Snape. Neville was currently using the invisibility cloak that he had discreetly given him at Christmas, as a gift, to navigate the school halls undetected. He had given the young Gryffindor the invisibility cloak under the pretext of it being strictly used for escape and protection; allowing Neville to escape from harm if he was ever in any danger. After all, he couldn't allow Neville to be killed by some random madman, or some ardent fan turned deadly stalker, especially with the prophecy hanging over his head. The boy had duties to the world.

However, tonight it was being used in the way that he had intended all along, so that Neville could make his way through the school's halls undetected by the prefects and staff to complete his mission. He also gave Ronald Weasley one to use as well, so that he could use it to get to his private meetings with him so that the boy could report on Neville's activities. Another reason he had given Ron the invisibility cloak was to prevent spurious rumours from inevitably cropping up, especially if people kept seeing Ron coming to his office for private meetings alone. It would only be a matter of time before some imaginative and potentially damaging rumours would be thought up and spread by his many gossiping students.

He also gave the lad instructions that he shouldn't tell his twin brothers or boast about it either; he had reinforced this command with a rather strong compulsion charm. The very last thing he needed was for those two troublesome boys to use it to pull off more pranks. Of course both of the cloaks had several powerful tracking charms placed on them, so he knew where they were at all times, in fact he could monitor its location, and Neville's progress, from the enchanted parchment on the desk in front of him if he desired.

However, he decided instead to check on the location of the last Potter's invisibility cloak. He privately suspected that it might be one of the famed Deathly Hallows from legend, but even after years of study he had found no real hard evidence to prove this. After casting a quick spell, the magic indicated that it was still sitting somewhere inside Gringotts Bank, but he couldn't tell exactly where, due to the bank's own extensive wards interfering with the tracking charms. Such a waste, he thought, almost shaking his head in disapproval. It was such a shame that he couldn't have simply given a fake one back and kept the original for himself, to study and use further in the battle against the approaching darkness. Cutting off that thought process as spilled potion, he decided to go back to monitoring Neville and Ron's progress.

He listened to the reports of Neville slowly making his way through the school's halls, accompanied by his friends, only to be interrupted when the small portrait he had placed to watch the door on the third floor hurriedly reported that an unknown individual outside the door had just killed the house elf charged with watching the door. The person was in fact now currently feeding the dead elf's remains to Fluffy as a distraction for the hungry pet Cerberus.

Upon hearing the news that the house elf charged with watching the door by Filius had been killed, he was deeply upset. The elf was just an innocent bystander following orders, an unwitting pawn that should never have been there in the first place. But at the same time, he did learn who the intruder was. He now felt relatively certain the intruder was Quirrell, based on the description given by the portrait. And since he was receiving no new reports from the other portraits that the staff were moving to intervene, he had to assume that the security charm placed on the door by Filius had also been countered without any problems.

The untimely death of the elf also kept the rest of the staff from becoming involved. In fact he could now arrive and nicely 'save the day' as he long planned, as well as keep what really happened a tight lipped secret, or a rumour at best. All in all, it could now be covered up with a simple story, Quirrell attempted and failed to steal the stone. After thinking about it for a bit longer, whilst the elf's death was truly unfortunate, it could be beneficial in the end, as it would make it much easier to cover it all up, and quite frankly, at very little cost to the light side. He could easily live with this sacrifice considering the upside.

All wars had casualties and the murdered house elf was just one of those unfortunate victims caught up in the crossfire between wizards. Then a more selfish thought crossed his mind, the thought being that at least it wasn't a student or staff member. If a student or staff member died he would have a far bigger headache with all the paperwork necessary and the inevitable political investigations into the affair.

After all, the last thing that he needed was for Lord Malfoy to use the situation as yet another tedious pretext to challenge his position as Hogwarts Headmaster once again, or trying to use it to have him removed from office. After the 10th unsuccessful attempt, it got rather tiresome.

No one in real power would care that the house elf had been killed at Hogwarts, especially someone like Lucius, who saw such creatures as disposable anyways. Dismissing such dark thoughts, he needed to focus his attention on his trap; perfect timing was necessary to ensure that everything went as planned, otherwise how could he make the prefect entrance to save the day?

**Midnight Lord**

Penny found herself looking over yet another shelf loaded with confiscated items the caretaker had taken from students over the years. They had spent over an hour so far exploring the room, and it was fast approaching midnight. Once again she thought about what she was doing and concluded that she was being quite the naughty school girl, which surprisingly gave her a thrill. Normally, she would be nearly fast sleep by now, or patrolling the school halls, however the excitement of seeking out and 'raiding,' as Harry called it, kept her wide awake and filled with energy. And the constant fear that they could be caught by the old caretaker at any moment heightened the exhilaration.

She had always been a well behaved individual, respectful and obedient to the rules, never causing trouble, but right now she was in a storeroom taking items she fancied that had been confiscated over the years with a mischievous raven haired boy.

Naturally, she had been nervous at first, torn between her good girl nature and its fear of getting caught, and her rebellious teenage girl side which really liked the idea of adventure. It was like the teen shows that she had watched at home during the summer, where the girl would sneak out of the house right under her parent's nose to meet up with her Prince Charming under the moonlight for a romantic rendezvous.

She took a moment to look over her shoulder to where Harry was currently going through the items, examining the ones that didn't have any brown name tags on them. He was hardly Prince Charming at the moment, and was _far_ too young for her anyways, _but_ he was her oath bound Lord, and therefore was a Prince in a manner of speaking. 'He does have nice raven black hair, it's almost like a lion's mane,' her mind added for her. Turning her attention back to the shelves she was searching she found even more magazines which she carefully looked through, taking out the newer, undamaged copies just for something to read, as well as to give to some of her mates who were interested in the gossip sections.

She added the undamaged copies to the stack of items she was taking, while trying to juggle everything she was carrying. She silently wished once again that she had brought something to carry them in, since she had no real pockets with her current outfit.

She was currently wearing her school blouse and skirt, the same she wore to that day's classes. She also cursed keeping her tights on; she was hardly dressed appropriately for 'raiding', but at least they kept her legs warm and showed them off fabulously, she noted privately. 'But who am I showing them off to?' she questioned. She made a mental note to wear some jeans next time and ditch her school shoes, since 1 and a ½ inch heels were hardly suitable for running in if she was required to leg it out of here, and heels did make considerable noise, unlike trainers. She mentally slapped herself at these thoughts, _'there won't be a next time, damn it, this is a one off. I am just helping a friend out,' _she told herself.

She heard soft mumbling from Harry's direction; turning to see what he was doing, she saw him transfiguring some magazines into a useful brown canvas sack, which humorously reminded her of the cartoon robbers that were on kid's TV and comic strips and how they would make away with their ill begotten loot.

She quickly copied the rather useful idea, before chastising herself for not thinking of such an obviously good idea herself; she was a witch wasn't she? Quickly turning some damaged Witch Weekly magazines into her very own 'loot' sack, she recast the _lumos _charm. Placing the good magazines she wanted to keep into her sack, she was confident that the very simple transfiguration spell would last for a couple hours at least, long enough to make a clean getaway.

Turning her attention back to the shelves, she realized that most of the stuff was either junk or pranking items that she had no absolutely no interest in. She did find a small handheld mirror with a rather elegant design that caught her attention though, one that would easily fit into her loot bag. Since it had no name tag, she added it to her own brown sack. After all 'waste not want not' was an excellent maxim to live by. Then she saw some firewhisky, other alcoholic drinks and a couple of rather nice shot glasses; she decided to take them as well as Ravenclaw house often held unofficial parties. Before putting it all in her loot sack she cast a bevy of unbreakable charms on them; the last thing she needed was for them to break in the sack and damage the magazines she had 'reclaimed,' already.

"Hope you are going to _share_ some of that," her partner in crime said cheekily from behind her. She looked over her shoulder at her partner to see him looking at her and the alcoholic drinks with a smile, before responding in her best cheeky tone, "Of course, as long as we're sharing," she replied playfully, feeling renewed confidence in the idea that they wouldn't be caught tonight.

"Of course, a 50/50 spilt," Harry responded mischievously, before turning back to looting the shelves.

**Midnight Lord**

Most of the stuff that was scattered around the gloomy storage room was harmless prank materials and jinxed stuff used solely for mischief, along with junk of absolutely no real value, but for some reason hadn't been thrown out. He was more than a bit annoyed that the map wasn't in the room, as that was the sole reason behind this risky heist; however, the raid so far was proving to be surprisingly fruitful.

He had already found several things that had taken his fancy, one of which was the simply massive pile of chocolate frog cards, including some he'd seen, from a brief scan, which hadn't been produced in centuries. He hadn't looked through them all yet, but hopefully the collection would contain even more of the rarer ones he needed to complete his own collection. A complete collection was a rare thing and highly valuable in the wizarding world. In the future they might even serve as much loved gifts given to prospective business partners who were fans of the cards. Little gestures like that went a long way to secure and keep a business relationship on good footing.

Before putting the cards into the sack, he had the sudden thought that he was becoming a kind of a collector of things, considering the type of things he had taken so far. After all, why take a chess set when he already had a very good one? Sure he liked chess, but he had no use for another set and it would just take up space. The chocolate frog cards, however, were actually monetarily valuable to collectors and useful for information purposes, as they contained short summaries of all major wizards and witches who had been deemed influential enough in European magical history to be added to the famous card collection.

A business idea came to him at that thought. Why limit the cards to Europe alone and limit the market of customers? Perhaps the cards could be sold in other parts of the world with a more targeted collection of figures. North America, for instance, would have a collection of cards featuring prominent American, Canadian, and Mexican wizards and witches throughout history, including the Native American shamans and sorcerers of legend. South America, Australia and Asia, could be done the same way, with perhaps something other than chocolate if their cultural tastes didn't enjoy that particular treat. He'd have to have Bloodmoon look into who owned the company which produced the cards and see if they might be willing to sell.

Back to the matter at hand, unless you had a good size collection of cards, including the rarer ones, most cards weren't individually all that valuable. The ones he had found, though, were some of the rarest cards ever produced, still in mint condition. He also found an everlasting bouncy ball, based on the tags description; he added that to his sack since he had always wanted one, plus he liked the colours, since they shifted randomly with each bounce, but it had little practical use. The enchantment/magic which allowed a sort of perpetual motion, now _that_ had possibilities. The first and most revolutionary possibility which came to mind was in muggle power generation. That was the basis of wind and hydraulic power after all, blowing wind and flowing water moves a turbine, which in turn produces electricity. The idea that a wizarding child's toy could have the basis for changing the world forever made him laugh internally.

Once again focusing back on the task at hand, he found what appeared to be a good half dozen full body sized glamour mirrors, similar in design to the one he had found on the 3rd floor. He read the accompanying brown tag: "_Charmed to show what its counterpart mirrors see - Confiscated from Sirius Black for being used to spy on female students._" He let the tag fall from his hand; he was not surprised at all by what his traitorous godfather had done with these mirrors, due to his mother's own disapproving views of the man. As far as his mother was concerned, his godfather was a bit of a hound dog, a womanizer always chasing some girl's ass, trying to get into her knickers, then bragging about it like a jerk to his friends. His mother's journal had found it ironic that should he have been known for being discreet about his various encounters that the dog would have had many more girls interested in him.

Leaving the mirrors behind, he turned his attention back to scanning the shelves for anything of interest, or use. A couple more minutes passed before he saw anything else that took his fancy. He saw a number of shelves with what appeared to be something similar to a muggle strong box on them, which probably meant that there was probably something valuable inside. Quickly examining the ornate wooden boxes, the boxes were quite similar in design to the viewing boxes found in non-magical jewellery stores, with the glass serving as a viewing window for the contents inside. He silently vanished away all the dust on the boxes. Looking through the glass, he could see most of them contained various pieces of jewellery, affirming his hunch that this was the wizarding equivalent of a strongbox.

Examining the strong boxes in greater detail, he quickly concluded that most of the boxes contained lost jewellery that had fallen into the caretaker's possession by default, since most of them didn't have any brown name tags to indicate they had an identified owner. Most of the pieces appeared to be semi valuable, so he decided to take a crack at overcoming the security charms that were bound to be on the boxes.

First he tried an unlocking charm, on the off chance that it would work, but that failed much like he expected it would. So obviously the lock was charmed like the door in the room with the flying keys, meaning it only opened to the right key, which, no doubt, was in the caretaker's possession, or on the key rack in the other room, or simply gone.

Looking over the strong boxes, he found that they each had faint rune engravings on them which had worn down over time, mostly, it seemed, because they hadn't been properly maintained. He couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment at how lazy wizards were, how often they used magic that they barely understood, and overall at the lack of effort that was made to protect their so-called valuables. It seemed that having the Goblins and their Cursebreakers protecting their wealth and exclusively fulfilling all their warding requirements had made them lazy and forgetful about the need to maintain runes to keep them functioning as intended.

He recognised that the runes were clearly Latin in origin, which was to be expected since Latin and Celtic runes were the two main rune scripts used primarily in Europe these days. This made his task considerably easier since he recognised several of the runes from his prior reading and his own self-study of the subject.

He quickly decided that the best thing he could do was to remove the individual runes he was most familiar with, hopefully that, coupled with its poor maintenance, and would disrupt the strong box's wards and magical protections.

He went back to one of the earlier shelves where he had seen a student level rune crafting knife of relatively good quality. He was tempted to simply banish the runes away like he did with the Mirror of Erised. He didn't for two reasons. First, that would take a good deal of energy to accomplish, which he might need for later, considering the number of runes. Second, he wasn't entirely sure what the other runes actually did. He most certainly didn't want the banisher being sent right back at him, which would be rather painful at best and potentially deadly at worst.

It was only in hindsight, after studying how runes worked for a bit, that he had come to realize that destroying the key runes empowering and protecting the Mirror had been both monumentally stupid and ridiculously reckless. In fact, he was quite lucky to still be alive as his actions could have easily led to him being severely injured or killed outright. Even a severe injury would have been deadly at that moment as only Merlin knows how long he'd have languished there before someone checked on the Mirror's security and got him medical attention. In his own defense, he had been extremely ignorant about runes at the time and was rather tired and therefore wasn't thinking clearly. His judgment was further impaired by his anger at being unable to solve the puzzle of the Mirror.

Finding the knife quickly on one of the earlier examined storage shelves where he had last seen it, he examined the dull blade closely before returning to the strong boxes so that he could begin chipping away at the faded runes. He knew it would be slow, tedious work to chip away at the runes, but it was the safest way to gain access to the valuables contained within.

Looking over his shoulder in the direction where he had last seen Penny, he saw that she was busy examining a book or something. Shaking his head in amusement, he turned back to his self-appointed task of chipping away the runes. He found himself giving voice to his humorous thoughts. "A room full of secret treasures spanning a thousand years and the girl is looking at books. Merlin, help me."

**Midnight Lord**

Everything was back on track and his plan was progressing well for once, Albus reflected with distinct satisfaction. He had moved back to his office so that he could better monitor and direct the situation and was currently playing a game of chess using the charmed chess set connected to the life sized version down in the chamber. He was deliberately playing a rather conservative game against Ron and his friends, in order to allow Quirrell the time to get further ahead of the first years and expend more energy against the defences before Neville would face him. After all, there were two trolls standing guard in the next room, and five first years could hardly battle them and live. Plus he couldn't risk Neville's life on a few simple trolls.

Sure, Neville had managed to confront one the previous Halloween, but it had been more luck in his personal opinion, and that Mr. Potter had been there.

Once again his thoughts turned to the enigmatic Mr. Potter. The first year was a curious and potent mix of Lion and Raven, having the impressive and laudable ability to use knowledge effectively, even while under acute stress. Most of the Ravenclaws he had known over the course of his long life either froze or outright panicked when confronted by an unknown situation that they hadn't planned or prepared for. Because of this inability to adapt and improvise to a changing situation, they were naturally rather lacking in duelling prowess. Whilst Gryffindors on the other hand would just charge into the mix without a plan, mostly relying on their quick wits and good old lady luck to see them through the fight. Most of the time, surprisingly, they came out reasonably well off for their efforts.

His mental evaluation of Mr. Potter was cut short as the trolls' life signs abruptly stopped. He breathed a 'sigh' of relief and hoped that at least one of them had at least managed to weaken or even injure Quirrell a bit. The wards then signalled again, indicating that Quirrell had moved on to Snape's potion challenge. The gem stone on his desk flashed gold and started glowing, confirming that the wards were ready to capture and imprison Tom's essence when he was forced out of his current host.

Everything was going as he had planned.

Focusing back on the game of chess, he decided that Ron and Dean's pieces would have to sacrifice themselves in order to gain victory. This way it would give Ron some fame, glory, and sense of self-worth, hopefully further securing his place within Neville's circle of close friends that the boy would rely upon well into the future. It would also teach the group about the value of self-sacrifice for the greater good, the price sometimes necessary to achieve victory, and hopefully would set him on the path Albus intended for him to walk in the years to come.

His first thoughts on this matter had been to swap Ron for Miss Granger, but he had quickly discarded that idea since she could easily help Neville with Severus' potions riddle, which he doubted that Ron or Neville would be able to solve on their own. After all it wouldn't do for the boy to drink some poison and get himself killed...well, before it was necessary.

Focusing back on the animated chess set, he watched as Ron did exactly as he desired, before smiling faintly when Dean's piece similarly moved forward to be sacrificed. "Good boys," he purred, happy that everything was finally going as he desired. He then lazily played out the remaining perfunctory moves of the game, just for Neville's piece to step forward to checkmate his king as he wanted; he idly knocked over his own king in a sign of defeat.

Getting up, he decided that it was time for the final checks. First he checked on the fake stone once again; he saw that his prey had already spent a good half an hour in the room already and should, by now, be fully under the effects of the potent power draining and dampening wards.

Now it was time he for him to play his own scripted part, as he got up from his chair.

Sparing a quick glance towards his office mirror to ensure that his robes were in perfect, awe inspiring order, he made sure that he was the very image of how a powerful grandfatherly wizard should be.

He decided to forgo putting on any dragonhide body amour beneath his robes. His custom made robes had numerous protection charms already placed upon them, these should easily provide more than enough protection against a weakened foe under effects of numerous wards. Plus, going into battle in a full suite of body armour just didn't give the same impression of invincibility and overwhelming power and confidence as seemingly ordinary robes did. After all, a man walking into a battle with extensive body armour looks _weak_, and unsure of his own magical abilities to keep himself safe from harm.

He also had all the benefits of being in his stronghold working in his favor, as all the ancient wards were at his command, giving him a massive advantage.

'_When confronting a foe, make sure you have a good, witty catch phrase ready to use. So much of magical duelling is about the show you put on beforehand. If you appear confident and sure of yourself, you start to undermine your foe's own confidence before the duel even begins, thus giving you the advantage._' The words of his very first duelling instructor echoed in his mind, bringing back the memories of his playful youth, before he took on the heavy burdens of leadership.

He decided to begin with a grand entrance. After all, this was the first time Neville and his companions would see him going into battle; it needed to have just the right balance of awe and fear to help firmly imprint the image of him as the grand, all powerful light-side mage into their young, impressionable minds. This image of him would grow to be untouchable.

"Fawkes," he spoke aloud. He immediately felt the soft flames of his companion engulf him and move him to the 3rd floor chess set so that he could begin saving the day.

**Midnight Lord**

After chipping away at the runes for a good while, it was simplicity itself to open the strong boxes. In fact, all it took was a moderately powerful _finite_ which cancelled out the most basic spells aimed at locking the box's lid, to remove most of the protective security magic. This was followed by the standard unlocking charm to shift the internal locking mechanism to 'open.'

If he was ever going to make a strong box like this, he would put the runes on the inside of the box, hidden under some fabric at the least, before putting any jewellery on top. Maybe even add some runes to siphon power from the environment to power itself and a few more to prevent the runes from being damaged with blunt force or otherwise modified/vanished in any way. Like many things he'd seen since entering the magical world, the construction of these boxes, supposedly to protect valuables, was another example of just how lazy and unimaginative the current generation of wizards were in general. While logic was often trampled gleefully by the impossibilities magic made possible on a regular basis, logic still had value.

He cautiously opened the strong box with another flick of his wand, before looking inside for any additional runes that may have been hidden and missed earlier. Part of him was disappointed that he found none. Not yet wanting to put his hand inside the open box, in case of some still undetected security spell, he remembered the summoning spell Penny had just used, and her rather good explanation of how to cast it.

"_Accio Silver Bracelet,"_ he said aloud while visualizing the piece of jewellery that had been visible in the box's window leaping into his open hand. Thespell barely made the simple silver bracelet wobble. Perhaps expecting success the first time casting a spell he had just learned about was a little presumptuous on his part.

It took several failed attempts, but after the fifth failure the spell successful worked, the bracelet leaping into his open hand. He considered the spell for a moment; it had taken a considerable amount of magic to summon the silver bracelet, more than seemed normal, but then he remembered that silver was naturally magically resistant. It was a simple silver bracelet, with a couple of small sapphires and some fine rune engravings on it. If he had to guess, it had probably belonged to some spoiled pureblood princess who didn't care a whit if she lost it, and probably just got daddy to replace it instead of taking the time to look for it. He quickly put it in his sack, before repeating the process of checking over each item of untagged jewellery before putting it into his loot sack. In the end he only left the ones with name tags on them. Most of the items were rings, earrings, necklaces, chokers, bracelets and several non-magical watches that had failed after prolonged exposure to magic. He simply discarded these since there was no point in taking something broken.

**Midnight Lord**

Casting a quick _tempus_ charm to check the time, she saw that it was just past 1 in the morning. Sparing a quick glance over to where Harry had previously been standing, she found that he was gone. As far as she was concerned they really should be going back soon, since they both had lessons the next morning and the last thing she wanted to do was to fall asleep in the middle of her potions class.

Looking around for a bit, another book caught her interest. She quickly made her way over to it only for it to turn out to be someone's lost diary. She really didn't fancy nosing into someone's private thoughts, it just didn't seem right, so she left it where it was. Based on the handwriting alone, it had to be a girl's.

Continuing with her search, while occasionally openly yawning, she next found a small stack of non-magical sports equipment. Things like footballs, rugby balls, etc... She ignored that stuff; she had no real interest in sports and in fact disliked the idea of getting sweaty while playing. One thing she did find of interest was a very decent looking crystal ball used for fortune telling. She herself had no interest in or intrinsic gift for that particular branch of magic, but she took it anyways as it would look quite nice in her room as a decoration at least, since it was made of a nice bluish crystal.

She also found some items of clothing, which she ignored as well, until she came across a rather stylish, but dust covered pair of black stiletto heels, which looked close to brand new. If she had to guess, they had probably been confiscated by one of the teachers as not meeting the school's dress code on footwear. In fact, the highest heels allowed at Hogwarts were like the ones she was wearing, 1 inch. This pair looked closer to three and a half inches, and revealed a good part of the toe, which was probably considered to be quite scandalous by conservative wizards.

Making a quick decision to try them on and see how they looked, she found that they were a rather good match, only just slightly too big. She would have to use a permanent shrinking charm to get a perfect fit, but they would look good on her. She could also use a cushioning charm to make them more comfortable, she decided, as she modelled the shoe. They really did emphasize her long legs rather nicely, she noted, and surprisingly made her current outfit look kind of sexy, in a nasty school girl type of way admittedly. She slipped them off and added them to her bag of loot, and put on her own sensible shoes before she continued exploring this room's treasures.

Checking out the next couple of cupboards, she found that one had an actual padlock on it. Intrigued, she tried the unlocking charm. It failed. She decided to take a more forceful approach to opening it. Levelling her wand at it, she cast, _reducto, _and watched as her spell impacted the lock. However, the spell failed to break the lock on it. Sighing in defeat, she decided to move on and continue hunting for anything of interest or of obvious value.

Several minutes passed with nothing else rousing her interest, and she was nearing the end of the room. However, at the end of the room, she saw a series of heavy black iron crossbars barring her way. It actually reminded her of a jail cell, with several cupboards and wooden shelves locked on the other side of it.

Looking through the bars she saw a human skull, which had an unearthly glow about it, its eye sockets glowing abnormally in the darkness. This sight caused her to step back from the bars, leading her to conclude that this section might be where the confiscated dark arts items were stored.

She left the barred enclosure alone, having no desire to deal with dark arts objects, or accidentally curse herself by handling such dangerous items. And to be honest, after seeing a human skull with eerie glowing eye sockets, she was no longer interested in searching for anything more of interest. It had lost its attraction and excitement, but at the same time she wondered why such cursed items hadn't either been destroyed by the staff or turned over to the Ministry for study or destruction.

Once again checking the time, she decided to try and find Harry so that they could call it a night and get some sleep before tomorrow's lessons started. Making her way back to where she had last seen him, she heard a voice. "I know you're in here." This voice, she recognized, belonged to the often disgruntled and very creepy school caretaker.

Pulling out her wand quickly, she hastily tried to recast the disillusionment charm she had used earlier, but failed miserably due to her inability to focus and concentrate. She quickly gave it up and ducked behind one of the large storage shelves, and tried to calm herself down with breathing exercises she had practised when trying to reach her mind's codex.

Looking back towards the source of the voice, she saw the faint outline of the caretaker and his cat, holding the ever present lantern he was famed for using when patrolling the school's halls at night. "Come out, come out, wherever you are. I promise I won't hurt you...much." The caretaker's voice reminded her of the villains out of a few Disney movies. His words were followed by a hiss from his demon spawn of a cat.

She silently cursed her bad fortune at being trapped like a rat. 'Well there goes being head girl,' she thought. 'Oh, and my perfect behaviour record.' She wondered for a moment if Harry got caught, he was the reason she was here in the first place. She decided to hand herself in and hope that she got a lesser punishment for surrendering herself willingly.

Coming out from behind the shelves, she saw two red flashes come out of the darkness and hit the caretaker and his cat in the back, causing them to topple over, obviously stunned. Harry appeared out of thin air a moment later, walking towards her, carefully stepping over the stunned caretaker and his cat like it was nothing.

His hood was currently up, covering his face; its shadows covered his eyes, only allowing for his lower jaw to be seen, which gave him a rather sinister look she thought, albeit kind of sexy and mysterious. Pulling his hood down, revealing the rest of his face, he casually surveyed the scene.

"I've wanted to do that for a while," he noted aloud, whilst looking down at the stunned caretaker, his wand pointed towards the floor before looking back at her. "Did he see you?"

The first thing she wanted to do was tell him off for attacking a member of the staff. She stopped a second later, however, when it suddenly occurred to her that as a first year he had just cast two stunners, which were 3rd year spells. They were even cast silently! Which was a NEWT level skill. "No, he didn't." She answered, remembering his question after a few moments of intense thought.

"Good, take this," Harry ordered, giving Penny his loot sack, before floating the stunned man and his cat back towards the man's office with a simple, but powerful levitation spell. Following behind him, she wondered what he was going to do as they reached the caretaker's office,

"Harry, what are you doing?" she asked cautiously, watching as he floated the caretaker into the office and dumping him into the chair behind his desk.

"Covering our asses, just watch," he explained, before repositioning the man in the chair and placing his cat on the caretaker's lap, in such a way that looked like the man had simply fallen asleep, rather than intentionally stunned. After doing this he turned to her. "Pass me that firewhisky you found earlier."

She reached into her loot sack and pulled out the bottle of firewhisky, watching with interest as Harry then carefully poured some down the caretaker's throat while getting the man to swallow, then poured some more over the man's face and ragged clothing. This caused her to suddenly catch on to what he was doing; he was making it look like the caretaker had simply fallen asleep from drinking too much. Even if he reported a possible person in his storage room, who would believe him if they thought he had been drinking?

He then placed the other half of the once full bottle on the desk, and one of the shot glasses she had found earlier during her raiding. The glass was then partly filled up so it was less than half full, giving the impression of the glass having been used.

It soon looked like the caretaker had simply returned from his duties and had fallen asleep after drinking just a bit too much of the powerful whisky. Picking up the caretaker keys, she relocked the door to the storeroom, before placing them back on the key rack, where they had been earlier that evening, doing her best to make the office seem undisturbed.

"Ready?" Harry asked, having recast the earlier charms on them.

"Just a second," she replied, feeling far more calm about the whole affair. On her second attempt she successfully cast the disillusionment charm on herself, making her feel better that the spell was getting easier to cast, before she placed her hand on his shoulder. Harry then pulled his hood up, before once again activating the cloak's magic and totally disappearing from sight. He then gently started to guide her back the way they original came.

**Midnight Lord**

Everything had gone as he planned, well, mostly. He and his beloved Fawkes had flashed into the chess room where he immediately began treating the injured with pain numbing charms and other temporary fixes, at least until they could get them to the hospital wing. He did this all the while listening to Ms. Granger's report about what happened, and explaining why they had broken the school rules, which he found a bit amusing and very endearing.

He also sent Fawkes away with a note to Minerva telling her to rally the teachers and secure all exits around the school, before coming here to help deal with her heroic, but rather emotional lions. During all of this, one of his rings glowed warm. The ring had been charmed to heat up whenever Neville was injured, as he couldn't carry around all his normal monitoring equipment all of the time. This alert caused him to cut off the young lioness' report and make a quick run to the final defense room, ignoring the corpses of the trolls along the way. That he could still run that fast at his old age surprised the young students; who would ever have imagined that he could still sprint at the grand age old of 143 years. All he could say was, or wouldn't in this instance, was that it was the by-product of taking a weekly dose of Phoenix tears. This regimen gave him some wonderful health benefits, and otherwise kept him fit and healthy. Freely given phoenix tears being so ridiculously expensive to acquire meant that this was something near impossible for anyone else to do, unless they had a phoenix familiar willing to give them up.

Reaching the final room, he saw that Quirrell's unmoving body was slowly turning to ash before him, with Neville lying unconscious on the floor near him. He paused for a second, idly noting the eerie similarities to the night that Lord Voldemort had been temporarily defeated just over a decade ago. Some quick diagnostic charms on the unconscious boy revealed that his magical core was low, but _not_ dangerously low. However, out the corner of his eye he saw a dark mist-like fog rising sinisterly from the ash that had once been a body. It coalesced into a human like shape, then suddenly charged him with an unearthly scream.

Side stepping the shade's charge, which he now recognised as Tom's, due to the extremely familiar magical signature, he wondered why the wards weren't activating and trapping this spirit as he had planned. This trail of thought broke off when instead of charging for him once again the shade suddenly lurched itself at Neville, clearly hoping to finish the boy off now, whilst he wasn't able to defend himself.

Pulling all of his positive memories together with occlumency, recalling wonderful memories of his youth, the times he had shared drinking and laughing with his friends, celebrating, he shaped all this positive energy to his will and summoned his Patronus in the path of the charging shade. Upon contact with his bright white phoenix Patronus, the Shade of Tom screamed an unholy howl of pain, the extremely powerful white magic repelling the dark spirit and doing it harm. It quickly fled through the school's stonework.

His first thoughts after the short battle was why didn't his trap work? He dismissed these thoughts as irrelevant for the moment and decided to focus on getting Neville and the other first years to infirmary for treatment. An in depth examination of his trap could wait until he was sure that everyone was safe and being treated. The last thing he needed was for one of them to die on him now, after it was all over and nothing would be gained from their deaths.

Levitating the unconscious boy with him back through the series of rooms to where he had left the other students, he quickly explained that Neville was just unconscious and should be perfectly fine, that he just needed a couple of days to rest peacefully in the hospital wing.

Just as all this happened, Minerva arrived accompanied by Severus and Filius, who both had their wands at the ready, their cheeks red and puffy. He looked them over, "I think questions can wait until everyone has been treated," he voiced, hoping to cut off any probing questions until they could talk in private well away from the first years, before asking Fawkes to take him and Neville to the Hospital Wing, leaving the other less injured children in the care of his staff.

**Midnight Lord**

Slowly opening his misty eyes, he found himself looking up at a stone ceiling, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light in the room. His head was positively aching, banging away. Feeling a weight on his chest caused him to look down, and faintly made out some blonde hair. 'Now, that's odd,' he thought. He pondered for a moment before his still sleepy mind recognized the pretty blonde hair as being Penny's. Every instinct of his was to jerk upwards, but he stopped himself and started taking some calming breaths, trying to clear his head.

It took several minutes for his head to clear; even then it was still painfully throbbing away. Looking back down at the sleeping Penny, he saw that she was still fully dressed, but had buried herself into his chest, cuddling him while she slept like an oversized teddy bear.

Trying to remember what had happened, he pulled up the memories of the night before. Everything was perfectly clear for the most part, sneaking out, raiding, stunning the caretaker and his cat, and the satisfaction he felt at stunning the annoying man. The memories only started to get foggy after they had both returned to his room and took out some firewhisky to celebrate their success, as neither one of them could sleep from the rush of almost being caught whilst returning to their dorms.

After the second glassful, that's when his memories started to get foggy, to the point where he couldn't remember much at all. Obviously it was the effects of the fire whiskey. It seemed that alcohol had an effect on memories, even clouding them from the magic of the mind arts, something which wasn't mentioned in any of the books he had read. Looking back down at Penny, he realized that there were worse ways to wake up then with a beautiful, older girl. After all, he spent most of his childhood waking up at the crack of dawn in a small cupboard, or with his relatives screaming at him, or by waking up naked in the case of Tonks' prank. So waking up to the sight of Penny cuddling him, in the comfort of his room and bed, was on the higher end of his list of ways to wake up.

Trying to decide what to do, he reached for his wand and cast a quick charm to see what the time was. It was just past eight o'clock in the morning, so breakfast was well under way, and he had just under an hour to get himself sorted out and dressed before he had to head to his lessons.

Deciding he needed to get moving, he steeled himself to wake Penny up. He recalled that she had a potions class to get to today and would be rather displeased that he didn't wake her up.

Running his hand gently through her hair resulted in her giving a faint moan. When a few attempts with that method failed he gave her a slight shake, still trying to wake her up gently. His efforts only got him a sleepy request for "ten more minutes." He then gave her another, slightly more forceful shake, which caused Penny to look up with her own foggy eyes.

"Time to get up sunshine," he said with a light smile. This and the fact that she was looking at him in confusion seemed to trigger a response and for her to literally jump off the bed, only to trip over one of her own discarded shoes, before landing squarely on her ass.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. He had had the same instincts minutes earlier. Seeing that his friend was indeed awake, he merely wished her a "Good morning."

**End of Chapter**


	17. Y1 The Old Battle Axe

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, - Unsure yet of the pairings yet, I'll see as the story develops. That said I have couple ideas. I'll see as the story develops, and some of the reviews.**

"**Out loud" **

'**Thoughts ' / internal thinking**

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><p><strong>Author Note; <strong>One of my reviewers by a 'guest' pointed out that nothing had happen let for the M rating, whiles this is true, I wasn't planning to have Harry's sex drive starting to develop until some point in the second year. M rating is in part due to adult themes and emotions, as well later chapters when the story starts to get Bit darker in tone, as the death eater's start marching ect, and death hangs in the 'air' and the terror begins.

So really M rating could start to imply to end of second year towards start of the 3rd, almost certainly during and after 4th year. I hope this explains the reason why for the 'M' Rating**.**

Also I would like to ponit out I know I need a beta, but unless people are willing to help me out, i'll have to do the best I can by myself.

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><p><strong>The Old Battle Axe - 10th July<strong>

**Albus PoV**

Neville and his friends were currently being treated, and were well on the way to making a full recovery. He had reported to ministry earlier that morning what had 'officially' happened, that Professor Quirrell had attempted to steal the Philosopher's Stone.

And explained how he had been asked to protect the stone at request of his friend Nicholas. And several first year students decide to take action into their own hands, however he had fortunately return to his office in time to notice the alarm wards going off, and headed off to confront the thief.

And unfortunately Professor Quirrell was killed in the resulting duel, after he had attempted to summon a Fiendfyre, and the spell backfire and consumed him and the stone in his procession leaving nothing but ash.

It was reasonably close to the truth, he could hardly say Voldemort was using Professor Quirrell as a host so he could steal the stone, and regain his own body, that would just cause mass panic, and lead to remaining followers rallying to their fallen master.

Also the fact that there were only two witnesses to the event, him and Neville. With no hard evidence to back up their claims, just theories, which he didn't want to, speak of. If he had to guess the ministry would just try to remove him from office, and start a smear campaign, claiming he was sub-coming to effects of old age, rather than admit the hard truth.

Now he was just waiting for Neville's grandmother Augusta Longbottom to arrival, also known as the old battle axe in certain circles. And quite frankly he was scared more of her than he was of Tom.

She was a hard woman, who took no nonsense, and wasn't willing to play his games, hence he had decided to tell the truth, to point. Leaving out the part he had used her grandson as bait to help draw out Lord Voldemort. It was safer, because if she ever found out, it would be one endless headache, far better to tell her the key parts, so she would work with him, rather than her working against him later on. After all it wouldn't do for her to removed Neville from Hogwarts, where he could keep eye on him and guide him.

Of course he would have her give a privacy vow, to keep knowledge of Tom being alive a secret, until the time was right. He would also have to talk to Neville into keeping quiet about it, which would be easier with his grandmother supporting the motion. Since such old families were close, and would almost always side with their family.

Seeing his private fireplace fare, before the elderly Augusta step out in her normal attire, what was her trade mark. Getting up to greet her "Augusta, how present to see you, how are you today?" he asked, hoping she was in reasonable mood, rather than her normal stubborn one.

"Cut the crap Ablus, tell me why in my grandson is in hospital wing right this minute" came the sharp reply, seeing Augusta making her way over to seat, not waiting for the invite before she said "are you going to stand there all day, sit down, Or do I need to hex you," she threaten in a non-nonsense tone.

Immediately sitting down, rather than risk irritating her further before he even started explaining what had happen, deciding to not brother with offering a lemon drop, it would just made her more sour than normal.

Deciding to get on with meeting quickly as possible, hoping that it would make her less irritable.

"As I am sure you know, Neville and group of his friends last night went out to try and stop the robbery of the philosopher's stone that had been place in my care. And suffered a series of injuries, resulting from the defences put in place to guard it" he explained, seeing her nodded, confirming she had indeed heard the official story, before continuing on.

"However this if the official account of events, before I tell you what really transpire I am going to need a vow, that you won't share what I told you, unless I die, or the knowledge become public, or I release you from the vow" he requested, however he suddenly got feeling he was sitting bit too close to an active volcano that was just about to erupt.

"ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE!" She shouted, causing several of the portraits of previous Head Teachers to winced, whiles others that had been sleeping woke with start. Before they quickly start to flee to another portrait rather than staying around, even Fawkes decide to abandon him, causing him to quietly mutter "cowards" beneath his breath, and tune out the following rant.

He didn't know who was better really when it came to rants... Molly or Augusta, it also reminded him of his mother before she spanked him for miss-behaving when he was little kid.

"If you don't tell me right this moment I'll drag you to the ministry and pour truth serum down your throat" she threatens.

"There is no need for that Augusta, I just need to ensure you understand the serious of the situation" he chided, hoping she would calm down enough to be reason with. Whiles wondering for 100th whether her animagus form was a bear of some sort.

"Don't give me that crap, if you don't tell me truth right now, I'll pull Neville from his school, and transfer him to Durmstrang. I am sure they accept him, how could they not" she threaten with a shrewd smile, causing him to winced at threat.

Sighing, pinching his nose, before clearing his spectacles knowing full well that Augusta would be more than willing to carry through the threat. That single action would get him removed far faster than any plots made by Lucius, Britain would never accept Neville not going to Hogwarts, he would be gone before the term ended.

"Fine, but I tell you this freely, and hope you understand the seriousness of the situation, and the harm it will do if it becomes public knowledge" he said sternly hoping the elderly women would do the right thing for everyone's shake.

"If you recall, the night Neville's parents were murdered and Lord Voldemort's was defeated, all that was found of his remains was ash, his robes and his wand. Whiles public celebrate his defeat and so-called death, however I had my doubts as I am sure you can recall, and my desire for blood wards to help protect Neville against reprisals" receiving a nod, that Augusta was following him, and remember that long conversation.

"Like I said that night, when I delivered Neville to you, I had my doubts that he had been permanently vanished, because I doubted Lord Voldemort didn't put safeguards in place on the off chance he was killed. However as time passed with no sign of his survival we came to accept that, and hoped that he been defeated for good" he lectured, but not saying that he expected Voldemort survival the encounter.

"However two years I ago I heard rumours of a dark shade, stalking the dark forests of Eastern Europe. Upon my arrival where the shade had last been spotted, all traces had disappeared, however I manage to identify a faint magical sigiture similar to one of Lord Voldemort" he said, seeing Augusta finch for first time in over decade.

"This was one of the main reasons why I supported your campaign to get Neville the permit to start learning magic early, so he could start to learn to defend himself, since the boy would be a target on principle if Lord Voldemort ever return." He explained, but he wasn't going to admit to her that he only supported the motion, due to he couldn't stop it either, hence used it to help ensure her continued support. After all no point fighting a battle you can't win.

"Well it turned out that Professor Quirrell was in league with Lord Voldemort, and was his agent within the school. Quirrell had been tasked with stealing the stone, so his master could get a new body. At the same time to try and kill your grandson, if the opportunity arose without revealing his master's true objective. Hence was the party responsible for cursing your son's broom, and releasing the troll last Halloween as a distraction in his attempt to steal the stone." He clarified, before cleaning his spectacles again, with an exaggerated sigh, giving the impression of a tired old man, before continuing on.

"However after Christmas holidays and Quirrell's return to the castle, I expected his involvement but had no proof to charge him, what I did not know was when he returned to castle, was Lord Voldemort had already taken him as a host, a body, an puppet to use as his own. So when I went down to confront him, I found the shade of Voldemort rising from Quirrell's corpse. I don't know what happen, and will have to wait for Neville to wake up, and answer some questions, before I can take an educated guess. In short after that I battle the shade of Voldemort, and was able to drive him off." He explained before once against giving impression of old tired man.

He had to admit his own story was good, it covered all the major events, and matched the visible facts, it was all for the greater good. Before he waited her Augusta to reply, hoping the story gave enough information to sate her desire for truth.

"Fine, I accept that, However why did you not come forward with this information prior today, why the cover up?" she asked, giving him a look, that said if he didn't give her satisfactory answered he would have another problem to deal with.

"Short version is it's only me who had seen him alive, and all the evidence can be dismissed easily, then add Neville's recounting of it you got two witnesses which can be dismissed. Neville due to his youth, and me due to my age, I am sure you heard rumours spread about my mental prowess declining" He explained receiving a nod before continuing on "

"When add into account allot of Lord Voldemort's inner circle manage to bribe their way out of jail, and currently hold key positions in the Ministry. Over half the currently department heads are either 'cleared' death eater's or have family members who were death eaters. Look at Lucius for example, he's got currently got the minister in his pocket, and probably manage to get the next one in his pocket following the elections this year. The last thing I want is this information being leaked, and Voldemort's followers seeking him out and assisting him in his recovery. Hence I choice to stay quiet and prepare the best I can, whiles at the same time investigating how Voldemort manage to survived. So I can remove his safeguards allowing him to be killed permanently" He said seriously, hoping Augusta would follow his lead.

"I'll keep my silence," she said causing him to let out a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding before she said "However I want a Vow from you, that you tell me if you made any breakthroughs" this cause him to mentally cringe at the idea, he had allot of secrets he rather keep to himself, such as the prophecy.

Deciding that he probably wouldn't get a better deal from the women, pulled out his wand, but already had a way out of the vow, "I Albus Percival Wulfic Brian Dumbledore swear on my life and my magic, that I will keep Augusta Longbottom updated in my search for how Lord Voldemort survived. So mote it be" he swore, getting a mild flash of magic before casting a spell. "Now that is done I guess you want to see your grandson" he questioned.

"Indeed," she replied, before picking up her handbag, and headed for the door, without even waiting for his offer to escort her.

Watching her leave he couldn't help but smirk, first of all he had not used Voldemort's true name, since he knew it was Tom Marvolo Riddle, he made the Vow invalid, also the act that he didn't use her full name in the vow, making the vow default. It always surprised him that more people didn't know those loopholes, especially someone such as Augusta who been around for so long, he put it down to age, after all not everyone can have regular dosage of phoenix tears. It was all for the greater good in the end.

Taking one of his lemon drops, he couldn't help but smile, the meeting had gone better than he expected. Now he had to put another part of his plan into motion, now he had to start recruiting for the order, and he knew just where to start.

* * *

><p><strong>Harry PoV- Bedroom<strong>

Lessons had been cancelled for the day, since it had been reported by the staff that Professor Quirrell had tried to steal philosopher's stone over night. And was killed in the attempt, but several first year students had tried to stop him and were injure as a result. He wanted to say I told you so to Professor Flitwick, but decide that was childish, however instead he had gone back to bed for a nap.

He had spent the good part of the morning napping, until Padma woke him, he lied and said, "He had a sleepless night" since he could hardly say he went out, and raided the 'lock up' and ended up stunning the caretaker. He and Penny had let to share the loot, but they probably do that later after Penny recovered from her embarrassment.

So now he was just killing time, doing bit of light reading to help him relax and process everything that had transpired.

He was currently reading about his mother's 7th year, it was proving to be most interesting to read. Mainly due to the death eaters were becoming more active, stepping out from the shadows. It was a scary time to live, especially for someone like his mother, who was first-generation witch, and gifted student with promising future ahead of herself made her a target by default.

Let instead of hiding or holding back, his mother instead had pushed herself forward, driving herself harder, proving she was more capable than most of her pureblood counter parts.

The more he read the more he wished he could have meet his mother for single day, let he knew it never happen. Causing him to think over everything that had happen in the last year, how much his life had changed for better.

Thinking over everything he had heard about what happen in last 24 hours, with Quirrell's death, and the lions ending in the hospital wing. He felt that he was missing something big; things just didn't add up, something was missing.

Deciding to try and ignore it, and get on with his reading. However his mind refused to let the matter drop, it was one of the curses of being intelligent. The need to know all the answers before you could be satisfied. Probably one of the factors what lead to him being sorted into Ravenclaw, was his need for all the answers. And was probably why he lacked a spiritual side, since it gave no firm answers only hope. Though that was changing now he was living with magic and ghosts for almost year, opening him up to the idea.

Putting down his book, before starting to pace across the bedroom floor, trying to think of all the factors. He re-went over everything he knew of what transpired, and his own analysis. Pulling up his thoughts, trying to see how they all were connected, before deciding to write them down and see if it helps.

Picking up the same note pad he had used to write his thoughts and feelings on the defences.

_First was the matter of Headmaster possibly stealing from him, and the potions master being an ass, which could be just because the bad history between Snape and his family_.

_Second the robbery at the bank, and the third floor, seemed to be connected on some level, which he could not see, meaning he was missing something important. Unless Quirrell was the one who broke in._

_Then the defensives on the 3__rd__ floor were too easy besides the wards, which he and the lions managed to passed, was it a test? Then who was testing, only one name could pop to his mind and that was Neville. Thinking over everything that had happen to the boy, first with the jink bloom, and Neville so called trip into the forest for detention with Ron, just to see a dark spirit feeding on a unicorn, if the rumours were accurate? Then if it was test why such a valuable item such as the stone? Surly there were easier ways to test the first year that required less effort and planning._

Getting up off the bed, walking over the window to look over the grounds, thinking over about the stone and its value, before saying allowed to no one but himself "the only reason to have the stone there was bait, since it was so valuable, then why the weak defences? And how is Quirrell's death involved in it?" before he starting to pace around the room again, something was missing. Before coming to the conclusion he needed more information before he could solve it.

And only way he could know for sure, was a first had account of what happen, not just rumours and gossip. Thinking of the lions, first there was Neville, but he was out-cold, Ron was unreliable, and possibly responsible for gossip, reminding him about the whole troll incident, and how much that story got degraded.

Dean and Seamus, were not present at the end, that left only Hermione, who he was pretty sure could give him some answers, if he could convince her to talk.

Deciding to visit the young lioness soon as things quieten down a bit, so he could have a discreet chat about it, and hopefully he could find a missing piece of the puzzle from her, and solve the whole purpose of the 3rd floor.

Worst case he could just stun Neville, and go looking around in his head, and see the boy's version of events. However no doubt the boy would be watch closely for rest of the term, which was only another 4 and half days. It would also be difficult to get him alone, since he was always surrounded friends, and fans, making it extremely difficult to achieve.

Before he turning to look out the window again, thinking over the problem how to separate Neville from everyone else. Upon seeing his reflection it reminded him of the need to check over the mirror, encase he missed something. So he quickly locked the door, before getting the mirror out of his trunk, placing it in centre of his room before resizing it to it proper size.

Walking around mirror again, looking it over, looking for anything he missed the first time he examined. He found nothing different, before he looked into mirror again and saw his family, which he dismissed quickly. It wouldn't do to think of them, they were long gone, and nothing could change that. He had to focus on the here and now.

Picking up his note pad, whiles at the same time looking over the mirror trying to see how it all fitted together, with the puzzles and the stone. Before the mirror image of him flash something red, causing him to look at the reflection, with interest.

To see the mirror version of him waving a red stone, which he took as what the philosopher's stone looked like. But he couldn't understand why his mind would think the stone would be red, after all there were no accounts he had read that mentioned the stone was blood red.

Looking at mirror version of himself put it in his trouser pocket before patting it; he felt a weight in his own pocket. Causing him to reach in, and warped his hand around an unfamiliar object. Pulling out his hand, to reveal a blood red stone, which seem to glow with power, causing his heart to skip a beat, as he process what just transpired.

Breaking his eyes off the stone to look into mirror, what seemed too nodded at the unasked question of '_is this really the Philosophers stone?'_

However before he could continue his analysis of what just happen, the door knocked and familiar voice was heard, "Harry can I come in?" asked Padma. Going with the first thing what popped into his head, "Don't come in I'm naked" as he quickly move to hide the mirror and the stone.

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><p><strong>Professor Mcgonagall's Office - Same Day<strong>

Argus had just been sent to her by Ablus, after he had been turned way due to the headmaster being too busy handing the fallout of Quirrell's death. Now the caretaker was insisting he was attacked by a student last night, after he was just about to catch someone in the storeroom, and how he wanted a full investigation and his attackers expired.

Sighing... it was turning out to be one of those days, first having to deal with injured students, and then telling Lady Longbottom about Neville, just to have her ear shouted off.

She was sure Ablus had intentionally done that, just so he didn't have to deal with the enrage women. Now Argus on top of everything, she knew the man was unpopular and was often on the receiving end of pranks, and periodical hex or jink, but she found it hard to believe that a student would go out of the way and assault him, like the way the man was describing.

Sighing, taking one long calming beneath, trying to think what to do, before she notice the trace of whiskey in the air thanks to her cat like scenes. Knowing she hadn't had any whiskey since Christmas, she sniffed again, and could smell it coming from the caretaker and his cat, under traces of soap.

She wonder if the man just dreamed it from drinking so much, but deciding it was easier to just to humour him, before saying "I'll look into it soon as I get a chance, but if you're so worry about being attack again, may I suggest you buy some dragonhide amour, or just be nice to students for a change" before dismissing the caretaker from her sight.

Once the caretaker had left she made a note to bring it up at end of year meeting, just so she could say she done something about it. From everything the man had said about his attackers were at least 3rd years, if one of the pair had manage to stun him. She immediately jump to two prime suspects, the twins, 'sighing' she decide to have word of them after everything, quieten down.

If that failed she would owl their mother about it, now that was pay back for all their pranking.

* * *

><p><strong>Harry Pov.<strong>

The next couple days flew by as the rumours about what happen intensified. Some even had Neville battling the fallen dark lord, which he quickly dismissed as impossible, since first he was dead, and second because the idea of a first year battling a dark lord was ridiculous, you didn't have to be genius to see the outcome of that duel.

However that rumour click in his mind, that the stone would make the prefect bait for luring a weakened dark lord out of hiding. But he had the stone, so did that mean there was more than one readily available that the Headmaster could use? Or was the second one fake, since there had been no reports that the mirror had been stolen, no newspaper articles about it.

Before he decided it was time, to visit Miss Granger, and find out what really happen. Hopefully he could strike up a conversation of some sorts, and maybe he could offer her his hand in friendship. After all, the girl was smart, and had similar up bring to him, so they should have some common ground.

It didn't take long for him to track her down, he just went to library since that seem to be where she was all the time. There was the lioness reading away like there was no tomorrow.

Sitting down across from her, she didn't even notice his present, so he decided to watch and wait. Looking at text book it was about rise and fall of dark lords, he found that interesting occurrence, maybe the rumours trigger girl's interest, or maybe the rumours were true after all, before he dismissed the idea again.

After several minutes it was clear the girl was so caught up in the book, that she wouldn't notice him unless he did something to draw her attention.

"Miss Granger" he said sternly, causing the girl's head to catapult up in surprise and shock, then fear, causing him to wonder why she feared him, before he spoke "I believe we need to talk"

"Do we? I have nothing to talk about" she replied dismissively, causing him to realize her little midnight adventure had given her some confidence. It also slightly annoyed him, since he was rarely dismissed since he left his relatives.

"So be it, I'll talk, you can listen, to what I have to say" he said forcefully, making it clear that he wasn't going to anywhere, which caused her to pick up her book and go back to reading trying to ignore him.

"Fine be rude, But remember this Miss Granger that you owe me a life debt, so it be in your best interest to listen to me, even if you have nothing to say" he threaten, getting a reaction, by her sudden stillness. "First of all you should know I have no intentions of claiming the debt, as long you do nothing against my interests, or harm me or my friends" he lectured seriously, the girl didn't even nod, causing his temper to start to fare.

"Secondary I came over here in part to offer my friendship," he said smoothly, "but since you been so rude I won't brother, you just proved to me your typical lion, hence not worth my time," he said getting up, picking up his bag before he made one more pointed remark.

"You think just because you played hero with your friends your better than me, wake up, they only allowed you into their little group because they felt guilty about the troll, and they allow you to stay because you help them with their work. You have nothing in common with them besides being sorted into the same house, where are they now? Messing about whiles you read, and try to improve yourself. Eventually they will grow tired of you, because you're so different, Ron's clearly jealous of you, and only puts up with you due to Neville, Eventually something will happen and Neville will pick Ron over you, and you will have no one, and due to your altitude and rudeness such as how you treated me, no one will be interested in befriending you, because they will have their own group of friends, you will be the outsider looking in" he lectured, "So I suggest you adjust your attitude missy" turning leaving the lioness alone.

Before walking off hearing faint sniffle signifying he had hit a mark. He felt a bit guilty for his remarks, but to a point it was necessary. Before he decide to go and look for Tonks, and get in some duelling in for bit, and burn off some of his anger.

* * *

><p>He dodge left, then right, before he shot back a hex, this was his 3rd duel since finding Tonks on the grounds, and proving to be most enjoyable.<p>

Dodging another barrage of spells, before he sent his own barrage of minor silence hexes at Tonks, causing Tonks to dodge, and move to right, he knew he was approaching his limit. So whiles dodging he'd made time out gesture before saying "time out" deciding it was better to stop now, rather than stopping after having received a hex or two.

Dodging last spell, before lowering his wand, waiting Tonks to lower her own. Before she asked "why you stop?"

"Getting bit drained and I have stargazing session tonight, so rather not fall asleep in middle of class, I'm sure you understand" he said before putting his wand back in the hoister. Before taking one of the chairs to sit down and reflect on the duel, and see if there any lessons he could learn from it. Looking up to see Tonks doing the same, he decide to ask if she was still interested in law enforcement.

"You still want to be Auror, or have you rethought your opinions since we last talk about it" he asked,

"Yea, it something I always wanted to do, I want to prove myself" she answered, looking towards window, giving the impression she was looking into the future.

"If you sure about it, you should know that the ministry is corrupt, you probably end up chasing someone who just pissed off one of the wrong department heads or being used a someone personal muscle" he said. Thinking over all he knew of how the ministry operated, he was sure they had some good people in it; but they were just over shadow by the bad parts.

"You think?" she asked, looking at him seriously,

"Yea, sure you will hunt some real criminals, but you know as well I do ministry jumps to the highest bidder. And half time you be stuck on some pointless case, or assigned to some head of department bodyguard detail, where you just follow them around all day, looking nice and professional, whiles saying yes sir, I'll wipe your ass for you sir." he humourlessly.

"That would suck, But you have to take the bad with the good" she replied, starting to get up to leave.

"True, it's like most things in life, you take the good with bad," he answered before saying jokingly "You could always work for me, the pay would probably be better, and I dont need you to wipe my ass," resulting her giving a chuckle whiles she left.

Finally getting up to go and have a shower, and clean himself up before tonight's class.

**Sometime later**

Freshly dressed and ready for one of the last lessons of the year. Be he heard knocking on the door, "it's open" he shouted, before going back to stroking serenity, which was nested on his lap.

Penny walked in, and seem to take the arm chair for change, instead of joining him on bed, like she normally would have, he wonder what had cause that before he thought back to her using him as a teddy bear, so was probably was still embarrass about it.

"Where did you hide the stuff we raided" Penny asked breaking the silence.

"In the wardrobe, right hand side" he answered, making no attempt to move, just kept on stroking serenity.

Watching her get the sacks out of the wardrobe, before handing him his sack, before she retook her seat, he said "you go first then" he said, wondering what Penny had found during the 'raid'.

So Penny started showing him what she had found. Most of it held no interest to him, however he did find it funny that Penny had stolen a pair of heels, and decide to play a bit of joke, since they had agreed 50/50 spilt "so which one do you want left or right?" he asked, pretenting to be seriously, whiles trying to keep a straight face at her reaction.

"What you mean?" she asked, looking at him with a confused expression, "I thought we agree upon sharing our spoils?" he asked innocently.

"Well yes but I thought you wouldn't be interest" she answered, "Besides they don't really suit you"

"Maybe, but we still sharing so right or left, or we can cut both of them down the middle and get 2 half shoes each" he replied, faking seriousness.

" well... surly there must be something we can agree upon?" she asked, in desperation, before he couldn't hold in his laughter any longer, resulting him bursting out laughing, before Penny finally caught on to fact that he was teasing her, and resulting in her launching herself from the chair, just to slap him on the shoulder.

Eventually he'd mange to calm himself down to see a slightly amused Penny, "That's for avoiding me last couple of days" he said giving her a disproving look "are you not going to try them on? After all that?" he asked,

"Na, I'll try them on later, now show me what you got then" she replied. Deciding to drop the subject before opening his own bag, and went through what he got. First the cards, then the everlasting bouncy ball, and then chess set.

"Now for the main course" he said, before lifting the bag upside down and letting the jewellery full onto the bed, looking at pile he only just realized how much he had taken, Before looking a Penny, who mouth seem to drop to floor, before he said in explanation "what do you think, this is all from the unclaimed section"

* * *

><p><strong>End of term Feast -2 days later<strong>

He was currently sitting with Padma, as he carefully watched the other students fall in. Seeing the group of lions come in and sit down, reminding him of his recent failure to solve the 3rd floor.

He had failed to find out what happen that evening when the lions decided to play hero, all he had were theories, and limited evidence at best to support them. He had planned to stun one of the lions, and try using Legilimency to find out what happen that evening.

But he hadn't been able to isolate one of them, they just went around in one big pack, and wasn't help that other students had taken to re-following Neville like they did at the start of the year.

So he would have to wait until next year, before he could get some answers. Just meant it gave him more time to prepare and plan for ambushing Neville. As well practice his legilimency skills, since he only ever read about.

It occurred him he would be breaking the law if he went through with it, but when it came down to it, it was to find out what really happen, not to use the information for harm or to learn private secrets, it was just for answers for his own peace of mind.

Silence suddenly engulf the great hall as the headmaster walked up, and gesture for silence,

"Another year as come and gone and summer bids as all welcome, for all those who's this is their final year. I bid you good luck in your future careers, and hope you leave with fond memories of staying here at Hogwarts." He said proudly, pausing to scan over the room, "Now on to the house cup, in last place this year is Slytherin with a grand total of 376 points, bring their 4 year winning streak to end," causing politic round of applause from most of the Hall,"

"Next in 3rd place is Gryffindor with grand total of 402", this cause a slightly louder round of applause, In second place are the hard working house of Hufflepuff with a grand total of 561, causing another louder round of applause", and finally in first place, are the ever knowledgeable Ravens with grand total of 847 points" causing a wave of celebrations to erupt.

After couple minutes of celebrations the Headmaster rose his hand for silence, giving him the feeling that Ravenclaw were suddenly about to come second place, "However recent events have to be taken into account" the age headmaster explained.

"To Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan I reward to you 80 points each for standing by your friends in dangerous times, to Hermione Granger I reward 120 points for excellent use of knowledge and logic in stressful times, To Ron Wealsey, I rewarded 120 points for excellent game of wizard chess, and finally I reward Neville Longbottom, 150 points, for facing unknown danger, and leading your friends. So I believe new colours are in order" with gesture the hall changed to hanging Gryffindor banners.

Causing the lions to literally leap out their seats and start jumping up and down, the twins started doing a victory dance. Whiles he and rest of Ravenclaw house seem to suck on sour lemons at the sudden upset, and didn't even bother to clap, while Slytherins looked even more annoyed that they house rival had beaten them for both cups.

"150 points from Gryffindor for over the top reactions" came professor Snape's voice, cutting through the noise, instantly silencing the hall, stopping the celebrations in their tracks, causing the whole hall to look at the smirking potions master.

"Surly you jest, I think we can over look this just this once, since it's been stressful year" Came the Headmaster voice, in full grandfather persona, making move to redistribute the taken points.

"No I don't, under the Hogwarts point distribution rules, subsection B, paragraph 6, line 3 to 8, if an Headmaster gives any points within 24hours of the end of term feast without consulting the current head of houses. Then other head's of houses can also give and remove points, after all they didn't want Headmaster's intentionally favouring their own former houses" he said smugly, quoting the rules.

"I agreed with honourable head of Slytherin house," said Professor Flitwick formally "since rules are rules, and it's unfair otherwise, after all the Headmaster should be an impartial judge, besides those points should have been reward within 48 hours of the event occurring, as stated upon in the charter. And I believe this all happen 4 and half days ago" he explained seriously

"Surly you can't be serious, the last four days have been awfully stressful, and this was first chance to reward the points" the Headmaster explained.

"All our days have been stressful and busy with preparing for the summer, If you having problems remembering this, may I suggest you get a remember ball or two?" the charms master shot back.

This caused some giggles around the great hall, before Professor Sprout added her piece "I agreed with Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick, after all the ravens have work hard for their victory, I don't approve of favouritism you are currently showing. I have to admit I am shock that a former lion such yourself would be endorsing favouritism, are not the Gryffindors meant to be noble and honourable? I didn't think they would need to cheat and conspire to win," she lectured, challenging them to say otherwise, whiles looking at Minerva, who just seemed to recoil at the accusation.

Seeing no reply for coming "I move to have the points reset, to what they were before the Headmaster's interference," Professor Sprout said.

"Agreed" both Flitwick and Snape said, causing the Points to reset, causing the banners to turn back to Ravenclaw colours, whiles the Headmaster, and the whole of the Gryffindor table seem to suddenly be sucking on their very own lemons, whiles the rest of hall clapped, with the Slytherin house applause seem to reach higher levels, whiles Flitwick and Snape smiled smugly, giving the impression this had all been prearrange.

**Next morning**

The previous night had been noisy to say at least, the whole of Ravenclaw house seem to celebrating the victory and the return of the house cup, which was currently sitting in their common room on display, behind class cabinet design by Lady Ravenclaw herself to hold the cup securely.

Now everyone was busy packing and completing last minute tasks, before heading down to station to catch the train that left at 11, and it just gone half 9, so he had plenty of time to hand in this letter of complaint.

Finally getting to his head of house office, giving a quick knock at the door before entering to see his own head of house seem to be busy with last minute arrangements. After the standard round of introductions, he finally got around to business, since they didn't have time for word play.

"Professor Flitwick, would you please asked the deputy headmistress to attend, I got some official business that believe it best there be some multiply witnesses" he said seriously waiting for the charm master to respond.

"If you insist Mr Potter, However I hope this is not wasting our time, since we are awfully busy today" he warned, before getting up and making his way over to fireplace to summon Professor Mcgonagall.

Couple minutes later Professor Mcgonagall arrived, and not wasting time went straight down to business "what is you need Mr Potter, I hope you not wasting my time" she said seriously, making it clear she wasn't in mood to be mess about. So obviously still upset at losing the house cup.

Bring out the sealed letter he had written couple days earlier from his pocket, before placing it on desk, with the Potter house signal clearly displayed, "This is a formal letter of complaint about the teaching standards here at Hogwarts" he said seriously causing professors to recoil,

"More importantly its directed at one teacher particularly, Professor Snape, throughout the year he as single me out, and allow personal feelings resulting from the bad blood between him and my father to effect his teaching, in short he's been a bully, and as under marked my work as result, as well verbal insults" he lectured, eyeing the staff, before continuing

"I would list more issues, but I'm afraid I have a train to catch, and don't have the time, for it. But since Christmas I have documented, every incident, including witnesses, to support my claims, the most recent one was in potion's practical exam, when I challenge why I was given faulty potion brewing material and was punish as result" He said seriously, looking at the paling teachers.

"Now if this matter is not resolved, then I'll take it to the press, I am sure they will be most interest in the story, and of course they will investigate my claims themselves. I am sure many other students have similar issues, and will voice them to their parents, and they will in turn will support the media investigation" he threaten, betting last thing the staff would want was the issue to become public, and a political issue. When it could easy be kept behind closed doors, and be less of a problem to handle.

"I see" was all Professor Mcgonagall said, clearly still trying to process what had was happening, and how bad the fallout would be if it indeed went to the press, whiles his head of house stayed quite.

"If necessary I am also willing to provide memories to support my accusations, However I am willing to seek a compromised, which is agreement to allow me to self study potions, rather than attend the man's classes, as well having any points or detentions given to me to be check by another member of the staff." He offered giving them a reasonable way out.

"Since I want this matter sorted before the new school year starts, I hope you hear from you in next couple weeks, after you have had the chance to investigate" he said, before getting up to leave to catch the train, and turning around to say final good bye "I hope you have good summer break" before leaving to catch one of carriages down to the station.

**Station**

After arriving at train station after a rather enjoyable journey in one of the carriages, it still about an half an hour before the train left, so he had plenty time to spare. Taking in the platform for the second time, looking over its details since the first time had been dark, before making his way to train itself.

Stepping up on the trains steps to get a better look at everything, seeing the castle in the distance that had been his home for last 3 quarters of year, he would miss it dearly. As well as his friends he made, but the summer would give him time to grow and focus on his own studies.

He just hope that Bloodmoon had had a chance to ward a suitable residence for him to stay in. So he could practise his magic like he request, and had put some privacy wards so he wouldn't be bothered by anyone he didn't want to.

Sure anyone could find the place if they look hard enough, but if they wanted to find him that much; there wasn't much he could do about it with his limited resources.

Seeing first wave of students starting to arrived, he decide it was time to find a place to sit down, before heading towards the front of the train, where he had told everyone he would be sitting.

Walking for a bit before finding a suitable apartment for the ride, and went about making himself comfortable for the journey ahead, deciding to take window seat for the ride. He wondered what would the next school year bring.

**End of Chapter and End of the First Year**

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><p>End of First year, so let summer begin, I hope I kept the story orginal even if it is bit slower pace =) I should also be at 100k words now,<p>

I should post the next chapter in next couple days, after I re-read it a couple times... thats if i dont have to rework this chapter...

I hope you like it


	18. Y1 Summer Hoildays

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, - Unsure yet of the pairings yet, I'll see as the story develops. That said I have couple ideas. I'll see as the story develops, and some of the reviews.**

"**Out loud" **

'**Thoughts ' / internal thinking**

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><p><strong>Author Note: Sadly my Beta Reader had to stop betaing due to real life issues, which is understandable, considering just how much I can write and time it takes to check, but fortunately he was able to give me some feedback, so I can remove such errors from future chapters.<strong>

**And my other beta is taking her medical exams, and frankly that is far more important that betaing, so for mean time im without a beta.**

**However on a more positive Note! I have got about 7 completed chapters, what I will be posting across the next couple weeks, so I hope that keep you happy, and I'm sorry for any mistakes in advantage =) If you feel like you can asist me and my beta in checking my work, then please message me.**

**On a more funny note both me and my beta notice that spellchecking seems to switch between American-English spelling and British-English spelling settings.**

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><p><strong>The Midnight Lord - Chapter 18: Summer Begins<strong>

**6th September 2012**

They were still a couple of hours away from reaching London, he was currently sitting alone with the Slytherin duo. Since Padma had gone off to talk to some other ravens, to find out their contact details for the summer. Thankfully he had already done all that, so now he was just relaxing making some small talk, about their plans for the summer break. Whilst enjoying the journey, he had agreed to meet up Daphne and Tracy over the summer a couple of times. Of course he had similar agreements with all his friends.

They had asked him to meet their parents, but he had decline on the bases that he had to get to meeting with the goblins and didn't have time. Since the train had been delayed in leaving the station, due some lions were up late with some last minute celebrations the night before and forgot to pack. That had annoyed him quite a bit, since it risks him being late for his meeting with Bloodmoon. And Goblins as a culture hated time wasted by lateness, to them it look like you were saying their time was less valuable than yours. So the saying_ time is money_, summed up goblins to a T.

Plus on more personal note, he didn't want their piety with the whole orphan deal. And he felt it was time for those families to see their children, and he didn't want to be in the way. Besides he would just end up meeting up with them over the summer at one point or another.

Thus now he was waiting for train finally to arrive, so he could go about his business, tapping his foot impatiently, wishing the train would hurry up.

So when the train finally pulled into the station, he said a quick good bye to his friends, before heading over to use the floo system. Picking up some floo powder and throwing it into the fireplace, before saying "Leaky Cauldron" and then walking through the magical fire, the journey taking a matter of seconds since it was relatively short distance to travel in magical terms, before he arrived in the cauldron and rapidly made his way towards bank.

Walking through the bank doors, he notice instead of two guards there were now four, entering the lobby, before quickly scanning the room prior to walking towards the big double doors, which lead to his account managers office.

However he was suddenly stopped by pair of armoured goblins. "Halt Human, what is your business here," one of the pair demanded. Which he guessed was the senior of the pair, based on the minor differences in their armour.

"I have business meeting with my account manager Bloodmoon, he's expecting me," he answered carefully, since this was goblin territory and it would be unwise to piss them off, since wizard laws meant nothing here. If he said something or did something stupid, they could easy behead him for it, and frankly he liked his head very much!

"And where are your parents then? Or your guardian young human?" the same goblin asked, bring him out of his internal dialogue.

"Dead, I am last one of my line, so would you please move aside, I don't wish to be late for my meeting, time is money after all." He answered, hoping to remain the goblins of one of their own golden rules of business, and get moving since he had no interest in playing 50 questions with them.

"So be it, I'll escort you human," the guard spat, before saying something to his partner in their native tongue, before leading him down the corridor.

Neither of them wasted time with conversation, they just quickly made their way to Bloodmoon's office.

Finally reaching the office, the guard announced him before he entered, "I apologize for my lateness, I was delayed, and then interrogated about my business here today," he explained quickly, at the same time as subtly gesturing towards the door, where the guard was still standing, waiting to be dismissed.

"I see," Bloodmoon answered, before turning to the guardsmen "You may leave us." While Harry took that as permission to sit down in the offered chair, so they could get down to business.

"Now down to business, since the last time we talked, nothing much has changed. I mainly been getting accurate picture of Potter Household yearly profits now that everything is in order, so we can get an accurate idea of profits yearly profits, now that their under effective management, so we can made accurate investments" He explained, before continuing on. "Of course there are still some problems, but we should be able to handle them this summer, since they needed you to be present," he said in reinsuring manner.

"Now the Peverell account has been very active this year as you can imagine, and the primary figures suggest that we will be making close to five hundred thousand a year in profit. Even after taxes and fees are paid, combined with Potter account, we looking around a million a year from both accounts," Bloodmoon explained, this cause him to frown, since one galleon was worth anywhere between 3-6 pounds, he was expecting far more.

"You disapprove," Bloodmoon questioned? Obviously catching his frown at the figures.

"Well...," he said, trying to think of what he wanted to say, without upsetting his account manager "in the non-magical world there are business empires which make several billion pounds or dollars a year, so 1 million galleons a year is close to 5million pounds so in comparison it doesn't seem a lot," he reply cautiously, hoping it was an acceptable explanation.

"Indeed, you are right, but let me tell you something about magical economics," Bloodmoon answered, putting down the ledger, before starting his explanation.

"First, due to statue of secretly acts resulted in magical economically separating from the muggle one in 16th century. So our trade is all internal or with other magical parties, and we use cover companies. If we ever have to buy something from the non-magical world, if there is a shortfall in the magical," he explained.

"Now think about how many magical's are currently living in Britain, you got around 40 thousand wizards, and the same again in other magical beings. While non-magical Britain's population alone is close to 65 million individuals. Hence our economically is so much smaller, because it has far less people in it!" the goblin stated, before carrying on with his explanation "Including Europe, you got around 1.4 million wizards and properly the same again with other creatures such as veela, sirens, werewolves, depending if you class them as creatures or not... England does by the way. Of course there are the dwarf's settlements, and other goblin states, and other magical groups and beings, now do you understand why it's small in comparison?" Bloodmoon asked.

"Now I do, but what about when first generational magicials join the magical world? And how I'm able to use my Gringott's card to shop in the mundane world," he asked, his Ravenclaw mind creating a list of questions.

"Well that is tricky, first generation magicals are given a scholarship that covers everything from tuition, school supplies, as well as provides an allowance for additional costs. Then any additional gold is based on the current exchange rates. Then it's same in reverse, magical Britain set up an exchange system with bank of England, gold for credit. But we're not here to discuss economics, and politics," he stated, making clear that was the end of the questioning, before getting out a box and passing it to Harry.

"Inside you find everything you need for nice quite summer as you requested, there also a two way port-key, going from the alley to your summer residents and back again, its rechargeable, and it expires the first of September at mid-day," Bloodmoon listed, whilst he examined the content of the box, finding the necklace shape port-key like the one he used the summer before, keys to the house and fake id, which had been bewitched to confuse any non- magical who examined it.

"Is there anything else I can get you," Bloodmoon probed.

"I just got couple questions I would like to ask, if that is ok?" he said, as he put the necklace around his neck, before asking. "Are the extra guards are response to the break in last year?" just to receive nodded from Bloodmoon, before asking his second and final question.

"And how did you ever get that Port-key to me, that first night we meet?" he probed, since it had been really annoying him, trying to work out how it had happen.

"Well Mr Potter, since traditional magical means of locating you was proving to be ineffective. I approached the rest of the senior management with the idea, of hiring a non-magicial private investigator to locate you," He explained with bit of amusement. "Upon finding you, we sent a wizard to investigate. The wizard would of handed it to you himself, but the wards around the place were set to prevent any non-authorised magical from entering the place. Hence after some debate, it was decided to bewitch one of your relatives to drop the coin in your room and forget about it. It was charmed to activate on your birthday, just past midnight. At the same time several ward-stones were set up to temporary bring down the wards as the port-key triggered, allowing you to slip way unnoticed."

"Ok thank you," he answer with smile, before saying "I believe that is everything, so what is the pass phase for the port-key since you haven't said" he asked.

"I believe the activation phase is _Home Sweet Home _to active it, it should be written down on piece of parchment in the box," replied his account manager_**.**_

"Thank you, I wish you a good evening, May your gold grow, and your enemies bleed before your blade," he said, before leaving the office, heading to main reception area so he could head down to his Peverell Vault.

With the purpose of securely storing the stone away for future study, for when he knew more about the workings of magic in general. Sometime in the future he would tell his account manger of his find, but not for a while, not until he could protect it from thieves. After all there was no point carrying around such an available object, that he had no immediate need for, nor could be use at this time.

Taking the first cart, he saw it was same goblin as last time, "Griphook?" he asked unsurely.

Only to see the stun goblin turn around with his own stun expression, before he asked, "How's your year been?" recognising it was the same goblin.

"You remember me Human," he asked, bit confused.

"Sure, you took me on my first cart ride down to my vaults last summer, with my account manger Bloodmoon," he explained, wondering if it was all right to make small talk.

**The Vault**

He had store way the stone in one of the high security chests, which housed other valuable heirlooms, like family wedding rings and other ancestral jewellery. After all if anyone other than him did look in it, it would be hard to notice the blood-red stone in stack of gems.

Many would wonder why he was sealing the stone way, simple he didn't know how to use it, and he didn't need it, plus he had no way to defend it. So it was far safer in his vault hidden way until he could use it and protect it. Plus if he started suddenly having large amounts gold turning up, people would start questioning the source of the gold and investigate it, so he would need some way to explain his rapidly interesting wealth without drawing prying eyes.

In the short term, it was better to hide the stone away for a year or two at least, until the knowledge that a Philosophers Stone had been at Hogwarts been forgotten about and came nothing more than rumour, and second hand stories.

It wouldn't take much to add two facts together, and work out that he had taken it. And that would put him in everyone's cross hairs, who desired it for themselves. Even his best friends could be attempted to betray him for the chance at unlimited wealth, and eternal life. So he would have to be very careful who he told.

Sure long term it could fuel his business empire, ensuring to point he unlimited amount of gold. As well long life if he mastered it, so he could plan decades ahead of his rivals, but for now it was safer if it was just locked way. Until he had the knowledge and the resources to protect it: and of course a private army of wizards and witches at his command.

Taking one final look at the blood red stone, prior to sealing it away in the treasure chest. Before carefully putting the now fully resize mirror next to it, before heading over to a series of books shelves, to examine them for anything of interested.

He ended picking up a couple of text books on ward theory, and how to set up defences. Since his interest was prompted from his adventures of the previous year, and the discovery of the stone. He also took a couple books on charms and transfiguration theory.

After that he went over to one of the shelves his mother had prepare which held hers and his father text books filled with their notes, as well their own pieces on magical theory. He had left them there last year since he had lacked the necessary basic understanding of the material to understand them. Sadly, even after a year of studying and pushing himself, they were still out of his league, so he reluctantly left them there for then he was older and more capable.

One of the books what interested him the most, was the marauder's guide to becoming animagus, since he imagine it be useful skill to have, plus he wonder what his own form would be. It also was a tribute of sorts to his father as well; hopefully he could achieve his own form in the next couple years if he worked hard at it. Then he went about finding some other suitable reading material for the break, most of books, he pick up were ones he expected would hold second and third year material so he could continue to prepare.

After choosing a good two dozen books across the currently subjects he was taking, plus the ones he had already chosen and stacking them his trunk. Prior to sinking the trunk back down, so it would fit in his back pocket.

On the way out he noticed his family tapestry, what showed his family tree. The last time he had visited, he hadn't really been interested in it. It wasn't until he had learnt through reading and Daphne, just how much the magical world operated on tradition and family status.

He saw his name, Harry James Potter-Peverell, then his fathers and mothers names, then going back further, he saw quite a few surnames he recognized. But the name what got his interest the most was when looking at Peverell branch, he had a distance connection with the Slytherin family, about 700 years back, where one of Slytherin's great grand draughters married into Peverell Bloodline.

With the Peverell then marrying into Potter family tree, on and off from the 13th century onwards. If he had to guess to maintain an activate marriage alliance between the two households. Right up to the main branch of the Peverell family suddenly dying out all in 1632, all within a matter of months of one another.

So if he had to guess they were probably killed off for whatever reason, since five of them died, on the same day. After all there was no way a whole family of 30 members strong suddenly dying out in a matter of weeks of one another by any natural means? If he had to guess, a house war or Blood feud was declare, or something along those lines.

Looking at the family tree covering the vault wall, he was curious why no one from Potter family ever took up Peverell name and title ever again, until he did. Surly there was a reason or two for letting the name die out.

Deciding to look it up, over the summer so he had better understanding of his past, since he already knew Potter name dated back to time of Romans in Britain, but he had no real idea of his family history belong the last 50 years or so.

His stomach grumble, reminding him it would be well into evening by now, quickly walking over to pile of coins to top up his own money pouch. Before rapidly making his way to vault door to leave so he could get something to eat, only stopping to make sure the vault fully closed. Before waiting for what seemed like eternally for another mine cart to arrive to take him back to surface, instead of Griphook, he got another goblin, and was forced to share the cart ride back with an elderly couple.

Whilst travelling back to the surface, he pondered over fact that he had a distance blood connection to Salazar Slytherin, as well the off chance of possibly being able to speak parseltongue as well. That would be cool ability to have, even if people automatically assumed he was dark wizard, just due to have having the ability.

Sometimes wizards were really daft, basing their assumptions of others, on past actions. It wouldn't surprise him that fair few individuals had the ability, butd had chosen to stay quiet. Rather than being thrown into that box, and automatically being judge as dark wizard or witch, and then being treated as a walking time bomb.

So caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice they had arrive back at the surface until the goblin poked him with his stick, causing him to snap out his thoughts and apologize for not paying attention.

**Home**

Waking up rather late in morning; since he had been busy the night before unpacking and getting the small two bedroom farm house, he was currently calling home up to speed. Thankfully due to wards placed around the house, meant that the tracking charm on his wand was useless as long as he was inside the wards, or a highly magical area.

The wards around the place also include any 'anti-muggle wards and privacy wards, the house from the outside just look like any other old farm house, what everyone would expect to see in the English country side.

So getting the place up to speed was relatively quick and easily. One thing he missed while staying at Hogwarts, was the ability to cook his own food the way he like it, and when he liked it. Since Hogwarts lack this, due to it was catering close to 300 students at any one time, making the idea in practical. Thinking over what was needed to be done, so he could prioritise his efforts and energies for the day.

The first thing he was planning to doing after finishing settling in, was exploring the local area around the farm house. So he could at least get a sense of where everything was, and what local services were in the area.

Second was food shopping, as well some clothes since he had bulked out quite a bit under some healthy living conditions. So he now almost looked like a normal healthy 12 year old boy. Third, well that was relaxing and reading, he had to visit the alley sometime to top up on supplies, since he couldn't last night, but that would be done over the next week or so.

Then finally get somewhat into shape, and visit healer Ayra and get her to give him a check up, and subscribe any potions he would need for the upcoming year.

* * *

><p><strong>Hogwart's Staffroom – <strong>**Minerva ****Mcgonagall's**** PoV **

The end of term meeting was well underway; all members of the teaching staff were present, with the exception of the recently 'retired' Professor Quirrell. These meetings often lasted for several hours at least; first they would go over the standard review of the course material, and things what could be improve upon, or no longer needed or some cases removed, due to being to advance for that currently year group of students.

Which in her professional opinion devalue Owls, if the standard kept changing to suit each individual year, at least Newts were constant. And Masters were graded internationally, by multiply experts so true geniuses could shine despite these short comings in the system, causing her to look at the resident potion's master.

No one ever bothered to bring up potions anymore, since nothing chance since Severus had started. Therefore they had combined their efforts to better use, such as getting new equipment, and often became down to who had most favours to call in. As well trying to get Binn's replaced, with a teacher who didn't put his class to sleep. Unfortunately this notion was always shot down due to practical reasons, first you didn't have to pay a ghost to teach, and by Binn's teaching about the goblins and their rebellions kept the ministry from trying to interfere.

Also the fact remained, despite all the bloodshed in history of Goblin rebellions, and wars, it was far cleaner than wizard history. And more or less every house had some kind of dark wizard or witch in their history, which they wished to be swept under the rug and forgotten about, so they could keep up the air of respectability.

However today she had feeling that the potions situation may change for better, after Harry's letter was brought to Headmaster's attention. She was going to wait until after the meeting had end so it could be discussed it in private, like the true professional she was, rather than airing to room. Even if the man had cost her the house cup!

Eventually they went on to reviewing students, ones what showed promise to achieve their masteries, if they desire upon leaving Hogwarts. And of course, how to help redirect the negative, and underperforming students so they too could reach their full potential. Or as Albus would regularly say, 'save them from themselves' and 'guide them back to the light'. She was all for helping students, but only then they wanted to be help.

They had spent good amount of time examining the up and coming seventh years, for the most talented, and ones which had rare abilities and skills. One key one what pop out was Miss Tonks and her Metamorphmagus ability, resulting in a round of questioning from Albus about her grades and the extent of her abilities, which Pomona answered mostly.

And finally they got onto first year's and professors thoughts about their new students, several of her colleagues pointed out that Draco Malfoy was becoming a bit of bully, but had reasonable grades. While his godfather Severus defended the boy, and praised his godson potions brewing abilities. So that notion went nowhere as usual, all due to Severus refusing to acknowledge their concerns, and then Albus dismissing it as unimportant, saying the lad would grow out it, but she had her doubts after seeing how his father had turned out.

Finally they got around to one of her favourite's Miss Granger. Speaking quickly to cut off Severus's not to quiet rant, about Miss Granger 'being a insufferable know it all,' explained that she was a role model student. Highly intellect and motivated, and was one of her top student who had a promising future ahead of her, with several of the staff agreeing with her who had meet the first year.

When they got to Ron Weasley, she was able to sum up the youngest male Weasley in a single word 'lazy' and explained to the room, and how he was bring down the rest of first year male Griffindors along with Neville's grades. And the hope with Miss Granger being his friend would instil upon the young boy some work ethics. And got around of agreement that boy was indeed lazy, even Severus didn't have anything to add to her rather brutal summary of Ron.

Then she went on and mentioned she would be writing to boy's mother in near future, if the lad's attitude continued. Which Albus agreed to handle it, since he was going to be visiting Molly in the next couple week's time, for his regular tea and biscuits with her. Which she always found rather usual, but Albus once stated she reminded him of his sister prior to her untimely death.

Eventually she got around to Neville, and gave her report, pointing out the boy's advance training in DADA, Transfiguration and charms, hence was one of the top students on the particular side of things, getting nod in agreement from the charms master. Then explain that rest of his grades were around 'Mid-E' standard, but his lowest was potions with 'A'

Before giving report on based on her own observations, she was able sum this up to in all of four words 'arrogant and over confidence' and went on to explain that Neville was the unofficial leader of first year Gryffindors with Ron being his second. As well pointing out Neville was regularly breaking the rules and encouraging others to do same, before Severus could say anything about it.

This was the end of her report on her Lions, before Severus started his own report on his new snakes, she didn't pay much attention to it, since he was never honest, and allowed his personal bias to effect his judgements. She had already made her conclusions on his new snakes, only a couple showed any real promise of talent. Most were average students at best, not budding geniuses hiding their talent, which Severus was making them out to be.

Eventually they got onto Ravenclaw first years, with the charm's master explaining each one of his ravens proudly, he pointed out two of interest were Mr Potter and Miss Patli. Both were his top first year ravens, surpassing most of their year mates in understanding. With Mr Potter very advance, possibly even a prodigy if his student continued to developed his skills at current rate.

"Attention seeking brat just like his father," Severus said not too quietly, deciding to intervene, she had enough of man's complaining about the lad over the last year, and cursing James Potter's memory.

"Severus Snape! You will mind you tongue right now and not speak another word about Harry or his father. After all, how in hell can he know his father then the man's been dead for last 10 years of boy's life, so grow up! You have already caused enough trouble that I am trying to clean up, and based on your attitude you've just shown, it supports Mr Potter's claims against you!" she ranted before pulling out a file, before shooting the potions master a various look.

"How dare you speak to me in suc.." Severus ranted, before his voice was silence, followed by his wand fly across the table towards the charms master, who said calmly, "I suggest you stay quiet, and don't speak ill of boy or his family in my present again. Otherwise you will find I know charms which will silence you permanently," he threaten dangerously, with his wand glowing.

"Please can everyone calm down, Severus you were out of line, Filius please lower your wand, so we can all act like adults rather than school children," Albus ordered, trying to restore order to staff meeting.

"I'll keep Severus's wand until the end of the meeting and Minerva as said her piece," Filius responded to the order, drawing everyone attention back to the now standing Minerva, and the letter she was holding.

Seeing it has her chance to speak, "I was going to wait until end of meeting so his actions could be discussed in private, so you could save face Severus. However this is,"gesturing to the pile of papers she was holding "Is official letter of complaint against Hogwarts teaching staff, from the Potter Household against one Severus Snape. For first verbal abuse and unfound insults, abuse of position as teacher and unfair treatment, intentionally down marking of grades, sabotaging examination efforts, and the most serious of all, regular attempts at using Legilimency on minor, which is a ticket to Azkaban for 5 years if proven, 10 years due to Potter's status as heir," she said, seeing the potion's master pale, and the Headmaster to take on grave expression.

"While this is the evidence supporting each one of the claims" gesturing to second, larger stack of papers, "And this is just what charges he can prove since Christmas, after seeking legal aid from Madam Bones," she said angrily, before handing around a copy to each of the staff, before handing the final copy to the Headmaster to read the charges and evidence.

"I've been checking these claims since yesterday, so has Filius and we have found they are well ground, and have enough witnesses to support them, plus the school charter supports them," she stated, looking around the table. "And after that little rant you have had earlier I can say the verbal abuse is well founded, Have you any idea what would of happen if he had gone straight to papers with this?" throwing down the document on the table, hoping the staff would realize what would have a result from the fall out.

"What is Legilimency? For those of us what don't know it," Asked Sinistra looking up from the papers.

"I don't believe that is necessary, I'll talk to Severus after this meeting has ended, so we can sort this little problem out. Then I'll speak to Mr Potter tomorrow to get him to drop the charges," Albus said in his full grandfatherly mode, whilst looking at Severus in disapproving manner of which a parent looks at a child.

"Albus you're not going to sweep this under the rug," the charm's master interrupted before adding,"Legilimency is the ability to view another person's mind, and influence it. In basic terms it is the ability to read another person's mind, its considered a dark art, and is strictly controlled by the ministry." Filius answered to the shocked staff, ignoring the Headmaster and his disapproving look at being disobeyed. Causing the rest of the staff to look at the potion master with renewed amounts of venom; that the man may had seen their most private thoughts and memories.

"Indeed, this problem is going to be sorted now," she responded, "Your actions if they ever become public knowledge will bring embarrassment to our school, damaging our reputation, not just yours. However Mr Potter has given us rather fair terms, if we want this to stay behind closed doors." She lectured, deciding paint the picture how serious it was for rest of staff.

"I would like to reminded you even having Lord Malfoy as your friend, won't protect you from the public outcry, and courts, if people ever find out what you done," she threaten before adding "and I doubt even the Headmaster would be able to protect you from it, you'll be lucky if your just fired, and you know as well as I do, If Madam Bones ever gets the chance to question you she will, and I doubt she will stop until she knows everyone of your secrets."

"Enough! You made your point Minerva, now tell us about the terms that he has offered us, so we can keep this private" Albus ordered, his aura radiating, causing her to stop the ponit, and move on to the deal. At times she forgot just how powerful the headmaster was, with his kind grandfatherly persona.

"First of all, a signed magical contract provided by the goblins, stating that Severus Snape will never use passive or active Legilimency on him again or anyone under the Potter household Protection. Second is that he is not longer required to attended lessons lead by Severus Snape, and will study potions independently. And finally for the remainder of his time here at Hogwarts, that Severus here cannot give him any detentions or point deductions, unless approved by another member of the staff." She read aloud, before handing the letter over to the Albus to view, so he could see the terms and conditions for himself.

"I think you agreed it rather reasonable, since he could easily have Severus in jail for next half decade, if he decides to take this to press or the ministry. You know as well I do they will never let him get away with it, especially considering their own children come here, and Severus himself as made number of enemies over the years, who would love the chance to see him in jail," offering her own judgement on the matter.

"I indeed, I think I'll go and talk to Harry, so we can get this all sorted out" Albus said, "Is there anything else?" Obviously trying to move the tropic to safer grounds, rather than staying on the disgrace potion's master actions.

"It's not related, but the night Professor Quirrell attempted to steal the stone, Argus was stunned by under known attacker. I have couple suspects, but I think the man was just drunk and dreamed it, since I could easily smell fire whiskey on the man's breath," she answered thinking back to the meeting.

"I also suggested he got some Dragonhide armour if he was so worry about it," she added, trying to add some humour to the situation, getting few chuckles from the staff at the thought of caretaker going around in battle armour for the next school year.

* * *

><p><strong>Harry Pov<strong>

The day had proven most enjoyable, he had manage to get most of his non-magical shopping done, but it was proving to be problem since he was outside to wards, he was unable to use his wand to shrink his shopping, and had to carry it the hard way, but it gave him a good work out.

He also got his food shopping done, since he only had the most basic things at his temporary home. In addition he also had managed to pick up a couple pairs of jeans and shirts since the ones he had were becoming tight, in short he was outgrowing his mundane clothes. It also gave him chance to explore the local area.

Now he was settling down for evening of reading, he had just finishing reading about wards and how to deploy them as defences. The book for most part was all theory, giving examples, of over lapping wards supporting each other; aim at slowing down the attacker for the average home, providing time for Aurors to arrive and arrest the suspect.

But it was accepted to create any strong defensive screen of wards. You had to have wards, supported by physical barriers and guardians of differencing natures. So to point the 3rd floor had been designed around that idea, and combined with the puzzle concept. This would have been far more effective, if the physical guardians weren't so easy to overcome.

It also made him think about Gringotts bank, at how extensive the physical protections were, with an army of goblins and creatures such as dragons, and of course wizards and witches in their employment. All finished off with wards on top. And that was the visible ones, who know what other quiet secrets the goblins had picked up over the years, and had added to place, since they were the leading provider of warding and curse-breaking services in Europe. And that would mean they also had the pick of best wards, ones which they had recovered from their curse breaking expeditions and no one knew about, it was like Fort Knots.

This ultimately gave him allot to think about, it also pointed out that certain wards and spells which could not be placed together. The key example of it was the Fidelius charm/ward. It required so much power to cast and maintain, which meant other wards could not be place on top. And has soon as the charm was compentmized it was useless, and you lack any other wards to act as protective barrier against the attackers.

It was pretty much the story of how his parents had died, betrayed by their friend, allowing for their murders to all but walk in through the front door, with no opposition.

No longer in the mood for reading about wards, after reflecting on his parent's deaths, it was sobering to think about. But made an effective lesson of different methods of defences, you either made your own stronghold with multiply layers of wards, or you have to secret keeper you have absolute faith it, otherwise you were easy prey, resulting in him gesturing for Serenity to come over and sit of his lap.

Soon as she landed on his lap, he went about gently stroking her as a distraction, seeking comfort in the simple act of having a friend nearby, which made it easier to think about his parent's deaths.

While he was stroking Serenity, he wonder if he was ever in the situation where he had to go into hiding, who would he put his faith in.., after all who ever became his secret keeper would themselves become a target.. Who would he be willing to risk losing, but also could be trusted enough to keep his secret?

* * *

><p><strong>Albus Pov<strong>

Walking down the road to where he had left young Harry over a decade ago, looking it over to see it had remained unchanged by time, expect for the minor details. He had change into his best muggle suit, so he didn't attract any unwanted attention.

He had a rather simple plan really, if Harry could not be persuaded to drop the charges, then for the greater good he would be forced to use some compulsion charms, and couple of memory altering spells to achieve his ends. Nothing which would cause permanently damage the boy, but just enough to get the charges dropped.

Worst case, he would just order the charges dropped, since he was the boy's magical guardian, if it ever got to the court room. After all no charges, meant no case, and Severus would not be explored, even if it did cost him to lose some respected, for further protecting the man from the law. But it was necessary for his plans, and one he was willing to make.

Simple fact was Severus had been following his orders, and he couldn't afford to lose such a valuable and skill asset such as the potions master, due to his own short slightness, and underestimating the boy capability.

Also fact was, if Severus was ever asked why he did it, it would come out that he had been ordered by him to spy on Harry. This would unfortunately lead to questioning how many others had Severus used the ability on. And that would cause much bigger scandal, then the names of students whose parents were both his political allies and enemies.

And frankly he couldn't allow that to happen, he was already under attack from Lord Malfoy. Who was currently trying to have him removed by using the troll incident, as pretext to gather supporters for his own takeover of Hogwarts. However at times like this, he was ever so grateful for his spies and agents, who kept him informed of plots against him.

Finally approaching the house which he recognised from his memories, and knocking on the front door patiently waiting for the Dursley's to answer. Eventually the door opened to reveal a well dressed blonde hair woman in her early twenties, "Yes, how can I help you?" she asked looking at him, with puzzled expression, causing him to snap out of his internal surprise, since if he remember correctly Petunia was brunette rather than blonde, and should be in her mid forties.

Realizing he may have the wrong address, "Sorry miss, I think I may have the wrong address, I was looking for the Dursleys, I was told they lived here," he explained.

"They moved way last September, I don't know where; they didn't brother to leave a forwarding address for any of their mail," she explained in a disapproving way.

This perk his curiosity at what wasn't being said. Making eye contact he dived into the Blonde's mind, who happen to be called Samantha White, and search through her mind, for all her memories of everything she knew about the Dursleys, from moment she had visited the house with her state agent, and meeting the Dursley's and getting the impression that the family was assholes. And that obese Vernon had tried touching her ass, making her feel disgusted, to the rumours that they had murder their nephew. After he had disappeared one evening, but no body was ever founded by the police. And that the wield things were going on around the house, and street in general, and that it was his ghost haunting it, reaching out across the void.

This caused him to frown, before he quickly recovered, thinking over the available facts, watching the memories of odd things happening, before making to redraw from her mind, not before leaving some mental instructions behind.

First to forget meeting him, and if on the off chance she heard anything about the Dursley's, and more importantly Harry, to send letter containing the details to Hogwarts muggle forwarding address.

And since she had been so helpful, he'd decided to do his one good deed for day, and help 'Sam' out by making her life easier. He left one final mental command, to live a long happy life, and be devoted wife and mother to her future children, before fully redrawing from her mind.

Turning leaving Samantha standing in door way, as her mind reset to its new settings, with no memory of what had just happen.

Thinking over everything he learned, he would have to send an owl with tracking charm on it, He would also have to form the ministry so they could remove the monitoring wards, and move them to Harry's new residences when he was eventually found. But the more disturbing thing was that boy's magic was clearly lingering, and manifesting with its own will. Which shouldn't be possible for someone as young as Harry's was. Only adult wizards and witches had been reported to have such effect, and only after having lived in the area for so long, and had died rather horrible deaths.

Eventually he came up with workable theory, with suited the available facts. Since it was possible by product of the original blood wards he had erected a decade ago, to protect the lad. Before Tom had marked Neville has his equal, and he had been unsure of Harry's role. Either way, he would have to monitor the boy, and try to solve this puzzle. Afterall their was so little written about bloodwards, and the ward theories behind them. Thinking it over, before smiling at the puzzle, before deciding his next great book could explore the theory behind them! it been to long since he had published any new works.

But it could wait; he had bigger problems to handle.

Looking at the neighbourhood for one final time, before disappearing, it never occurred to him that he could make Sam's life worst due to his interference, After all how could the great all knowing Albus Dumbledore ever be wrong?..

* * *

><p><strong>Harry<strong>.

Over the next couple days, he went about getting his business done, as well as any other additional shopping he needed, to get the cottage comfortable. The thing he realized was without his being able to use his wand, for his normal shopping needs it was very difficult to carry everything, and needed multiply trips.

So after drafting a quick letter to Bloodmoon, about finding way to disable to tracking charm outside the wards, before asking Serenity to deliver the letter for him to the goblin. It took some bribing, in which he promised to cook up couple pieces of bacon before Serenity finally took the letter.

During this period he had started reading 3rd year defence books, what started on more dangerous elements in magical world such as werewolves, vampires, and different types of ghosts and ghouls one may encounter.

The main reason for this was before the 3rd year most magicials didn't have the magicial strength to cast spell powerful enough to injury or kill such foes, so teachers focus on how to deal with minor pests, and annoyances, which had very little chance of killing you unless you were unlucky, such as fresh eating moths, red crabs, pixies, gnomes, whilst teaching basic defensives spells, and basic duelling skills, to lay ground work for later development.

The logical part of his mind recognised that werewolves were still human beings to point, and had all human desires and fears, it was just they had caught an incurable disease. What unfortunately caused them to shift from human to animal once a month, most of them just wanted to get along with their lives. But few rogue ones went out of their way to spread the disease and were very much feral, even then being in human form.

Whereas Vampires were bit more complicated, they had all the emotions of humans, but at end of day needed blood, preferably magical blood to empower they own magics. That ultimately meant they class you as food, to be slaughtered, just like any predator does, making any equal relation impossible. Of course there could be expectation, there could be vampires that you could have a civil chat with, but would you let one get that close? Knowing that you could easy be its next meal?

However the one thing which both species had in common, was their high resistance to magic, meaning most spells were ineffective, and had to rely more on brute force trauma, or specialize spells, just like the troll he had encounter the pervious Halloween.

But unlike trolls, werewolves and vampires were fast, graceful, and had advance senses, and most importantly they were smarter, therefore deadlier. Plus they could also rip you to pieces, so since spells were ineffective, he was starting to think about learning how to use weapon, for if he ever had an encounter with one.

But after thinking about the idea, he dismissed that since the truth was that if they ever got that close to you, you were good as dead unless you happen to be fortunately skilled, or lucky. After all sword would be fine against a werewolf, since you could hack its limbs off, but a vampire on other hand not so much, due to their own preference in using melee weapons. Even then werewolves almost always travelled and attacked in packs, so hacking one set of limbs off, left you exposed to the others.

Thinking over the problem, he reflected on how they had been handled in history, since last thing you wanted to do was let them get up close and personal, where their attributes favoured them, giving them a clear advantage in close combat.

So what you had to do was keep them at distance, and since most spells lost effectiveness after 30 feet, it meant a range weapon, so a bow of some sort with specialize arrows, such as silver for werewolves.

And simple fact was an arrow can travel a lot faster than most spells, so be harder to dodge, but be useless against a wizard or witch, since there were charms made to counter arrows, dating back to the dark ages. So would only be useful if caught the magical off guard, or didn't know the simple counter spells to render arrows useless.

It was also reason why guns and bullets were useless since the same spells could be use, but were less effective. But more effected one had been developed during the world wars, you just had to cast it before shots were fired, or have mobile ward around you. Most of these had been forgotten about, due to no wars directly effecting wizards. The spells were there, they just weren't taught anymore.

But then if you fighting a wizard you have no need for bow anyway, since you already had a wand, which could be far more deadly. Thinking it, weighing up the pros and cons, he could see no sort comings to learning a secondary weapon, after all a bow could also be use against any magically resistance foe such as trolls and dragons.

So now he had another task to learn, and to help pass the time. He would just have to get a bow first, and hopefully in one of his vaults there was one he could use.

**The Quidditch Shop**

He had just brought his first broom, and it was the fastest one on the market. The new Nimbus 2001 which had just arrived on the market, it was expensive, but he wanted that one. Main reason for this was simple, why buy an inferior older model when he could have brand new one? And to be best you had to have best equipment. Plus he was sure Longbottom, and Malfoy would have the new model, and if he was a seeker this would even the planning field. Plus he wanted to win, to prove himself at this new challenge.

However just at that moment he saw Draco and what he took to be his father, ordering a set of 7. Making Tracy's prediction correct that he was indeed buying his way into the Slytherin team, otherwise why would you needed 7?

"Potter" Draco spat upon seeing him.

"What you want Draco, can't you see I'm busy, I hardly have time for small talk," being polite but clearly dismissing the lad, after all his father was in ear shot, and was clearly discreetly listening to the exchange like most parents would.

"Well Potter, you're looking at Slytherin's team new seeker," he boasted, smirking confidently, however he could see Draco's father roll his eyes at his son's comments.

"You know bragging is unbecoming Draco, I assumed since you brought 7 of them that's how you got onto the team, by bribing Flint." he shot back, whilst examining the equipment on the shelves, looking for protective pads, not paying the boy any special attention, more concerned with getting suitable pads.

"So what, bribing is just another tool to be use to get to top, like any other, My father has always said bribing is one most effectively tools, one can use," he answered back with no hesitation, not even denying it the fact. Causing's several other shoppers to look at lad, in mixture of shock and anger, triggering his father hurry up his transaction obviously trying to get his son out of the shop, before he said anything else without thinking.

Internally shaking his head at Dacro's statement, how did the boy ever end up in Slytherin, he had no subtly. No one in their right mind would admit that they were bribing their way into a position, at least not publicly in middle of a store!.

"Yes, bribing can be effective tool," Harry admitted, "It however as limitations, first you need person you can bribe, but it also makes clear that you have to rely on bribing to get what you want, rather than skill and talent. I personally would much rather climb to the top by personal skill and knowledge, rather than bribing my way, so I can gain respected of my peers," he answered sagely; he could see several nods from the onlookers, agreeing with his argument.

Before Draco could shoot back a reply, his father intervene ,"Mr Potter", he said in smooth manner, what he would have to guess was how he dealt with other politicians.

"Lord Malfoy, It's a pressure to finally meet you in person," he lied smoothly, offering his hand, whilst slipping on a mask, trying to stay respectful, not wanting to anger the man, since he was one most powerful men in Britain, also was fact he was a ex-death eater, meaning the man had no issues with killing.

"Is it?" he challenged, shaking Harry's offered hand, while holding his crane under his arm.

"Of course, I been studying politics, and the main players, so when I finally turn 17, I have an understanding of key individuals, and their values, and political viewpoints so I can take effective part in affairs of state like my ancestors," he answered factually, in truth he had looked up most Death eaters, and the 'pardon' ones, so he would know their names and faces. They were enemies as far as he was concerned, but he wasn't going to say that out loud.

Draco was just about to say something, but look from his father stalled the boy. "Interesting so the Headmaster as ensure you being educated in politics then, as his duty requires him," Lord Malfoy asked a questioning manner.

"I'm affair not, most is independent study, as well several of my friends, who themselves are being train in political skills. In truth, I've never meet the man in person, despite him being my magical guardian. It seem from my point of view he sent me off to my mother's relatives, while keeping the votes for himself to use as he pleases," He answered bluntly, hoping it would cause bit more trouble for the Headmaster, by giving Lord Malfoy some ammunition.

Plus if both of them were busy battling each other, they wouldn't have time for him. It also implied he hadn't been influence by the Headmaster, and was not in the Headmaster's camp per say.

After all his parent's wills had been blocked preventing him taking up his Potter Lordship, with the support of the previous minister, and the chief warlock. And Lord Malfoy clearly had the current minister's ear, based on what the prophet printed. And might on the off chance move to have his parents will read, just to try to screw the headmaster over, and weaken his opposition voting group.

"Interesting, so what you are view so far on politics then?" asked obviously seeing what side of fence harry was on.

Deciding to be honest rather than outright lie, "I'm afraid my views are mix, I believe in value of tradition, and its importance, and why the magical world operates as it does, but I don't agreed with the pure blood supremacy movement, nor do I agree with the Headmaster's ideas. In short I'm a neutral, and probably vote based on what makes the most logical sense at the time for best long term results, but that's what I think at the moment, who knows what I believe in 6 years time," he answered, hoping it would put him in the clearly neutral/ independence ground.

"Indeed, politics often involves changing as time moves on, even if main issues stay the same, just under another title of debate," Lord Malfoy answered, obviously thinking over the new information, rather than paying attention to what he was saying.

"Well it's been interesting meeting you Mr Potter, Have a present trip." Before turning to his son "Come Draco, we have business to attend to," moving rapidly towards door.

Draco looked like he wanted to have one final resort, before following his father quickly and quietly.

Finally letting his mask slip away, he felt dirty for having to place nice with Lord Malfoy, who probably had a hand in his parent's demise, or at least knowledge of. But if it meant it kept Lord Malfoy from considering him an enemy then it was price he would have to pay, until he was strong enough to stand against him.

Then also fact of the matter was, it was easier to kill off Lord Malfoy in future if the need arose. If he didn't consider Harry a true threat, when the man had so many other potential enemies to worry about and counter.

Before going back to checking out some equipment for training, it occurred him also that if he was learning how to use the bow, it would strengthen his upper body, and help out if he ended up playing as a chaser, instead of a seeker.

**Leaky Cauldron**

Heading back to the cauldron, after having a rather busy morning of shopping, he fancied a drink. Walking over to the counter, however he was stopped by a familiar shout from his duelling partner who was in the corner waving him over.

Deciding to say hi, he could hardly ignore her now he had seen here, despite sporting a new pixie style hair cut, rather than her normal ponytail.

Walking his way over, putting to bags on the opposite seat, before settling down, for a quick chat, and maybe a bite to eat.

"So what you up to Tonks?, and what's with the pixie hair," he asked, while sitting down.

"Well, I'm meant to be meeting my new boyfriend for something to eat, but he's running late, so I'm here all by myself," she explained, obviously checking the room in process.

"Ah, so what's his name then?" he asked faking interest.

"Michael Hutt, seventh year puff who just finish this year," she offered in explanation.

Nodding not really caring who the guy was, but filing it away in Tonk's file for future use.

"How about we get a drink whilst we wait for him to turn up," he offered, before gesturing for one of the waitress to come over, before quickly ordering a round of drinks and paying for them.

"You know you didn't have to pay for that, I have my own gold you know," she replied.

"Yea I know, but it was my idea for drinks," he offered in explanation before having some of his Honeybutter beer. Before asking again "What's with the pixie look?"

"Well I fancy a chance of pace, since at Hogwarts they don't approve of such haircuts, so I just kept it in ponytail or with curls depending on my mood," she explained.

"But they allow you to have pink, and red hair?" he quizzed, since that seem bit more extreme that her pixie look.

"Well you see, I' am currently learning to control my abilities, so I have complete control over my style, but I don't have much control over my emotions let, hence they ignore it, plus its good warming system," she smirked, taking a slip of her drink.

Giving slight chuckle at the idea, before specking "Yea it's definitely helps us out," before taking another slip of his drink, freeing better after having to play politician with Lord Malfoy.

They slipped into quiet conversation, talking about their holidays so far, it was rather enjoyable until they got to reason why he was here, and explained about getting the broom and having to play nice with Lord Malfoy.

"Yea, Draco got his daddy to buy the whole new set of brooms for the Slytherin team, so Draco could play seeker, he probably sucks, and will only manage to win due to having a better broom." Harry sniggered, even as he was having images of Draco falling to the ground and going splat, like a bug on car windscreen.

"Yea, but it's going to suck for us Puff's thou, looks like we going to be fourth place again," shaking her head with disapproval, that Slytherin had just got massive boast in their chances of winning.

"Well what can you do?, it's just like ministry, where money rules," he said before looking at the clock. "So when is Michael going to get here then?" he asked, after seeing he been waiting for nearly twenty minutes with Tonks.

"Well he should have been here by now," she said after looking at the clock, her hair dimming a bit in disappointment.

Deciding that he could use the company, "Tell you what, how about you ditch this Michael, and we head of and do something else, since it's clear he doesn't see your time as important as his, otherwise he would of been here waiting for you," he offered, before taking another slip of his drink.

"Well I don't know, I mean he could turn up any minute," she explained, even as subconsciously looking around the room hopefully.

"Ok, fair enough, but look at it from this point of view, first by not being here he is saying his time more important than yours, therefore he is more important than you are," remembering what Daphne had said about meetings and politics, how the lesser party was often kept waiting to prove the point. "And by allowing him to think this you are setting the pretext for the rest of your relationship, if he's allowed to get the idea that he's more important than you, he will just walk all over you again and again, and consider you a doormat."

Seeing the girl deep in thought about it, deciding to add some more fuel to the fire, since he would rather enjoy having Tonk's keep him company for the rest of the day. And he was feeling bit restless from not having a duel in the last couple of days, plus she would just liven the place up, so decide to aim a dig at her house.

"You're not a doormat are you? Unless you are what everyone says about puffs lacking any type of backbone or any resolve," he shot, seeing her hair turn towards red, before saying finally piece in his pitch. "Besides if he truly interested in you he will owl you, you just need set the ground rules of your relationship," he offered seeing her hair cool down a bit, back to less aggressive shade.

"Ok, what do you have in mind then," she asked, opening up to the idea of ditching her boyfriend.

"How about first we head back to my currently residents and drop off my stuff, then we can do whatever you want, but I doubt I'll be able make up much for you missing a good kissing session," he answered cheekily, trying to add bit of humour, resulting in getting a blush, from Tonks

"Shh you, before I change my mind, now how we getting out of here, by floo?" she asked

"Na, I'll think I'll keep on teasing you, since you know I'm right about it. We'll go by port-key," he answered, before rounding up his things getting up to go outside into the alley, since it was considered rude to use port-key inside building.

Once outside in the alley, he took off a silver chain necklace that Bloodmoon had arrange, and held it out so Tonks could grab a hold.

Soon as she had firm hold of the chain, he asked "Ready?"

"Ready"

Checking over his shoulder, making sure only Tonks would be able to hear, he whispered the passphrase "Home Sweet Home"

It took a couple seconds before he landed face first on the floor, internally cursing his hatred of port-keys, getting himself to his fleet, just to see his clumsy friend getting to her own, after landing on her backside.

Offering his hand. to help pull her up by acting as a counter balance. Before turning around in sweeping gesture, and saying "welcome to my home".

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><p><strong>End of Chapter<strong>

Dam that was a long chapter 10.6k words. Didn't think I had it in me. I hope this answers some questions that have both been bugging me and some of you readers, which I had miss in eariler chapters.

Also wanted to introduce the idea of harry being possibly a parseltongue, as well explained how that gold coin first got into his cupboard, and other loose ends which had been pointed out.

Inaddition I wanted to give a bit more background on his parent's deaths, as well bring in some interaction with lord Malfoy, and Tonks. Plus explore blood wards, since so little is said about them.


	19. Y2 Meeting the Patli's

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, - Unsure yet of the pairings yet, I'll see as the story develops. That said I have couple ideas. I'll see as the story develops, and some of the reviews.**

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><p><strong>The Midnight Lord - Chapter 19: <strong>**Meeting the Patlis**

**7th September 2012**

"So, where is your family then?" Tonks question, whilst Harry went about dumping his stuff.

"Dead, as you know, if you're talking about my relatives I don't know because they're not my family, I live by myself," he answered seriously, before walking to the kitchen and called out. "Do you want anything?" at the same time as getting himself a cola.

"What you mean, you live by yourself?" Tonks demanded, forgetting about the offered drink.

"Simple Tonks, I live by myself, take care of myself, no relatives, just me and Serenity here," gesturing towards the sleeping owl in corner, whilst making himself comfortable on one of the kitchen stools around the table.

"Surly it's not safe, let's go back to my house, and contact my parents, and see if we can arrange to get someone to look after you," she said.

"No, I'm far safer by myself here, in my own little bolt hole than I ever was at my relatives," he said seriously, waiting for Tonks to sit down rather than just stand there like a lemon.

"Harry you can't live by yourself, your eleven Merlin shake," she beseech desperately.

Forgoing saying he was closer to twelve than eleven, which would just prove her point. "Let me tell you a little story Tonks, and after that you can judge, why I say I can look after myself," He said seriously.

"Well here is my life story, I was placed on my Aunt's door step in the middle of night with just a note, for the next decade, I was beaten, starve, abused, all at same time being treated as slave, cooking and cleaning just like a house elf would, you know how many times I fell asleep in my own blood?" looking at Tonks paling expression.

"No you don't, I didn't even learn my name until I went to school, I was called freak, my relatives literally tried to beat the magic out of me. I got scars on my back to prove it, and even now after nearly a year's worth of potions there still there, barely faded. It was me that kept their house clean and tidy, you know this year was the first time I had Christmas dinner? Or gifts? I learned long ago to look after myself, since no one else would. So tell me now, do you think I should go back to my relatives just to be starved and beaten?" he questioned coldly, seeing no answer forthcoming.

"I thought not, but that is the tip of the iceberg, I learnt long ago that the strong take what they want, whilst the weak suffer, that's the hard reality, despite every beating, despite every time I bandage myself up, I kept going. I don't need anyone Tonks to take care of me, because I learned to survive," he said somewhat proudly.

"Now sit down and have a drink, before you fall over," he ordered, getting another cola for the pale girl.

"Now, what do you want to do?" He asked, hoping to move on to happier topic, now that he drilled the point home.

"Harry, you really should tell someone?"she whispered.

"Just so some pureblood elitists can twist it, and use it as proof that their right? That non-magicals should be wiped out or enslaved? No thanks, I will not have what my parents die fighting for be twisted, and used as ammunition. By the same people who murdered them," he said seriously, waiting for Tonks to say something else so he could shoot it down.

"Harry," she said unsurely, trying to think of something to say on the point.

"Tonks you know I'm right, my story would just become a political issue, besides it's only for the summer, I'm here in a house with some the best privacy wards my account manager can arrange. I'm safer here than I have been for long time. There are no trolls here or a Cerberus," making joke about Hogwarts.

"Harry, you really need someone to keep the eye on you, you're eleven!" she said desperately, ignoring his joke.

Seeing she wasn't going to let this go, deciding to try and make a deal, at the same time as silently wishing, he hadn't brother to go to the cauldron in the first place. "I'll make a deal with you. You can come around anytime you want and check on me, if it makes you feel better," he offered, knowing it was not really much of deal.

Seeing no answer was for coming, and his stomach rumbling, "How about I make us something to eat so you can see I won't starve to death," before heading over to the cupboards to made a homemade pizza.

**Sometime later**

Over the next hour he showed Tonks how to made homemade pizza, and explained that his cousin had been a very picky eater, and would only eat it if it was made certain way. And that as result from age of five one of his primary tasks was to cook dinner and prepare breakfast.

"As you see, I know how to cook," taking the pizza out of the oven and placing it proudly on the table.

"Just because you can cook pizza, does not mean you can take care of yourself," Tonks stated seriously.

"Tonks, I am truly fine," He said for the 100th time, before summoning some knives and forks over to the table with a flick of his wand.

Looking at Tonks whose mouth was open looking at him "what?"

"Harry, you just used magic?" she said in shock expression, looking like she was going to panic. Taking moment to realize why she was panicking, before he decided to explain.

"Yea? The house is warded so the ministry tracking charm doesn't work whilst I'm inside the house," he explained, waiting for his pink hair friend to catch up.

"You mean you can do magic?" she asked.

"Yup, and so can you to, as long as you stay inside the wards, consider it a place you could train in this summer without having the nosey ministry butting in. Nor your parents, as long as you keep his place secret," he said carefully, trying get Tonks to see she could benefit from the arrangement by keeping it a secret.

"Harry..." she started just for him to cut her off

"Just think about it, being able to practise your duelling, your spell work, wouldn't that put you in a better position to get top grades next year?. If I remember correctly what you told me that the top academy students get best mentors, just think of this as way to get ahead of your rivals. Plus I could help you with another skill you will need to know if you wish to get to the top ranks," he offered thinking over Tonks being a possible partner in practising it. Thinking it over he could offer Penny a similar deal, he was sure she be interest in having place to practise spells for next term.

Taking a bite of his pizza, enjoying the taste of ham and sweet pineapple on his tongue, one of things he truly missed, whilst he was at Hogwarts was pizza. One thing he didn't miss at all was mash potatoes, it seem it was served at every meal. It also explained why a lot of wizards were fat, if they kept eating high calories without exercising or casting spells to burn off the additional energy.

Looking back to see she was clearly stuck in thought, trying to weigh up pro's and con's of the deal, "like I said, you work with me, keep my secrets, I am more than happy to protect you, and help you out, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours," he said flashing a smile, while trying to work out if the offer had taken root.

After all everyone you could make a deal with, you just had to find the right buttons to push for best result at lowest cost. Some people it was simple you could bribe or threaten, others you had to negotiate, but a lot of deals came down to whether the individual person liked you. The more they liked you personally, the simpler it was to get more favourable deal. At least that was everything he had heard, and read about on the subject; however his internal dialogue and analysis ended when Tonks finally spoke up.

"You mean like I would come under the protection of the Potter household?" she asked carefully, looking at him with interest, at what he had been implying.

"To a point, I cannot activity do so until I am fully recognised as head of the Potter house. So in the mean time it be more of a symbolic gesture, and a promise, but soon as I'm 17 and receive my full lordship, then I can fully protect you. And you would be considered part of my extended family," he offered in explanation. Since he didn't want to reveal he was indeed a lord already due to Peverell lordship, he also didn't want to lie or promise things at this time.

"I understand that it is more of symbolic gesture at this time, but will this also include my parents?" she ask carefully, but he could clearly see hope in her features, so obviously it meant something big to her, specially involving her parents.

"Sure, I understand their lawyers and everyone needs some good lawyer they can trust," he said, thinking over everything what he knew of Tonks parents. He knew that her mother had been cast out, but they had never discussed it. Seeing Tonks face brighten at hearing what Harry had offered, literally jump out of her seat to hug him.

Wrapping his own arms around his friend, he could heard faint tears, but he needed to know the full story, he rather know what house they cast out of, so he could prepare for any trouble, if needs be.

"Tonks I need to know what household you mother was cast out, so I would know who could possibly act against this," he explained, hoping Tonks would tell him the full story.

Ending the hug, Tonks could a moment to compose herself before specking "The short version is my mother was originally part of the 'Black Family household', and she was contracted to marry into the Lestrange's household. However she fell in love with my father, and married him, breaking the contract forcing her sister to replace her, resulting in her being cast out. It didn't help that her parents were big You-Know-Who supporters, even if they didn't take the mark themselves. So when my mother ran off, well think you can guess how they saw the whole thing."

Wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into a hug, thinking over how the Black household seemed to screw everyone over. But at least most of them were in jail, so no trouble, so were Lestranges, only their old allies may create problems or any heirs. He would have to look up Black family, to see who the next heir was and possibly deal with it.

"Well, they shouldn't be much trouble, their rotting in jail," he said. Thinking over everything what had just happen in last couple hours, and hoping it wouldn't turn out to be the biggest mistake he made.

"So Me and My Parents will be officially under the protection under Potter household when you turn 17," she asked confirming it.

"Yes you are," he answered while thinking over the advantages of having a Metamorphmagus in his service, as well pair of lawyers working for him. That's if Tonks ever fully manage to learn how to control her ability.

After all having someone who could change their whole appearance, without any need for potions or spells, could be mighty useful. And to be frank about it, he preferred the idea of Tonks working for him rather than some asshole at the ministry.

Deciding to get started on securing Tonk's allegiance to him, breaking the hug before saying "Follow me, I got something which will help you," before pulling away heading to his room, so he could get a couple books out of his trunk.

Unlocking his trunk and quickly looking through the books, until he found the ones he was looking them, before handing them over to her.

"The first one is low level charms and how to use them for interesting results in duels, as you have seen in our practise ones," he said with sly grin,

"The second is one is how to learn mind arts, you need to know it if you wish to reach highest ranks in ministry, in short it protects your mind from being 'read' and influenced. It can also stop the Imperio curse from working on you, or at least reduce its effectiveness, depending on your own skill level. That's if you can learn it, most people don't have the self discipline for it, and can only learn how to detect an intrusion, not stop one out right, but that enough for most offices," he explained seriously.

"Thank you," she said at the same time as looking over the books.

"You're welcome, it's now my job to help you reach your full potential, just return the books when you're done," he replied, accepting the hug, before becoming serious on again.

"But you should know that first that mind arts are considered greyish in eyes of ministry, so suggest you read the introduction warning of what is illegal and what isn't. And Professor Snape and the Headmaster are both masters of the skill, and I know for fact Professor Snape as no issue with using it on students. So I suggest you avoid the two of them as much as possible until you are skill enough to detect them at least," he explained carefully.

"Ok... what do I need to do?" she asked opening the book, scanning the content page.

"Meditation is the first step, because emotions are connected to memories, so need to control your emotion... Now I think it about it, it will probably help you with your metamorphmagus skills as well," he offered in explanation, even as taking up a locus position on the bed, gesturing Tonks to sit opposite him.

"Learning and mastering mind arts gives countless benefits, first it can protect your mind, and allow you greater control over your emotions and your magic. If you are powerful enough, it can lead to you developing your wandless skills, it can also make you smarter by allowing you to recall knowledge and events easier. In short, almost every powerful wizard and witch has had some understanding of the skill," he stated, while watching Tonks settle down.

"Comfortable?" he asked,

"No," said Tonks.

"Then made yourself comfortable then, and I'll guide you," he said, just watching as she made herself at home, throwing off her boots and her denim jacket.

"Now that your comfortable, take deep breaths, focus on my voice,"...

**Sometime later**

Tonks had finally left to go home for evening, he was certain she would keep his secrets, after all she had so much to gain, and he planned on very much cultivating her friendship and loyalty. First they had mainly been associates, due to them both having something to gain from the other. But that had been built upon slowly and surly. He planned to get both her friendship and loyalty through such acts.

It would take a slow process, but he remember reading that to be successful lord one had to reward loyalty and success, otherwise your followers would have no loyalty to you and your cause.

So after getting her to successfully relax, they had had a couple of mock duels, to burn off some energy. He also transfigured some targets out the remaining haystacks and explained why he was doing so.

So the question was, what should he do next...? Putting way the items he'd brought, thinking about what he needed to do... First he should prepare some letters to his friends, and arrange some dates to meet up, and catch up. Then he also had find a journalist to who would be interested in causing some trouble, and had no issue with taking on some well known figures.

Thinking over all the prophet articles he had read, as much as he hated to admit it there was only one reporter who showed that they were continuing willing to cause trouble, and turn a minor issue, into a front cover story with her creative writing skills... Ms Rita Skeeter.

On a personal level he loathed Ms Skeeter, due to inaccuracy of her reporting, and her creative writing style. But she was most suitable reporter for the task at hand, of blacking the potion master and causing trouble. After all with the evidence he had and Ms Skeeter's creative quill, he was sure she could paint a damming picture of potion master rather easy. After all she had no needed to create 'extra' evidence with this story.

Drafting a quick letter, to her with a place and time for a meeting if she was interested in getting a big story... he chose a quiet cafe in the nearby village, so they could have a chat.

Picking up his mother journal he turned to where he had left off, he had finally reach the point where his mother was just about to leave Hogwarts...

**The Forgotten Lord**

**Penny Pov**

"Penny dear I need to talk to you, it about something important", her mother said whilst taking a sit at the table.

Making her way over to table wondering what was the problem, she just happen to have the bad feeling that it would once again change her world for the worst. Maybe she was seer, but she dismissed it, she show no interest or ability in that branch of magic, it probably just because when ever her mother always said 'I need to talk to you' something bad almost always happen.

Sitting down, bracing herself for whatever her mother wanted to talk to her about.

"Well Penny, Now that you have finished your 5th compulsory year of education at Hogwarts that you're required to attend. We can't support the tuition fees for you to continue going there, you must understand from our point of view we have seen very little return for the amount of money we paying out to help support you, even with the grants," she said seriously.

"Mum, you know I can't do magic outside school until I'm 17, otherwise I would show you. You've seen my grades and know I'm one of the Top students!" she pleaded, hoping her mum and dad weren't seriously considering withdrawing her from school, where she had finally found somewhere where she belonged.

"That may be the case dear, but by leaving now you can still go to college, and get a respectable job in the real world," she answered seriously.

"Mum please, reconsider this please!" she begged, thinking over what her mother was saying about the real world.

"The decision has been made, it not only you in this family young lady. Even with the grants, and support provide by Hogwarts we still playing close to three thousand a year. It isn't just you in this family young lady so stop being so selfish," her mother spoke sternly; making clear the matter was over.

Thinking over everything she knew, about the grants, three thousand a year was same as some private school, and her family wasn't wealthy by any standards. She knew Hogwarts did a scholarship scheme for gifted students, "Mum," causing her mother to look at her, in emotionless expression. "Hogwarts does a scholarship, I can apply for it. If I get it, would you agreed to let me go," she asked hopefully, after all money had been primary concern based on her mother's reasoning.

It felt like eternally waiting for the answer, "I'll consider it, I'll have to talk to your father about it," she replied, before saying. "But you have to get a summer job to fund any supplies you need... I also want you to apply for the local collage for next term,"

Accepting the offered terms, realizing she probably wouldn't get any better ones. "I understand Mum," before watching as her mother leave the room.

Going to her room, to try to think about what she had to do in order to apply for the grant, before deciding to write a letter to her head of house about the matter.

Completing her letter rather quickly, she remember that she would have to go to the alley and send it from one of the Owl stations, if she wished to contact her head of house.

With nothing to do, she suddenly felt the weight of world crashing down on her, as realization that she may never she Hogwarts again, or any her friends, resulting in any of her remaining control to disappear, as the tears started to flow freely.

Taking calming breaths, thought about what she had learn about meditation before starting her breathing exercises, trying to calm herself. Thinking over the problem like the Ravenclaw she was, she realized she had additional option open to her, Harry, could easy back her for next couple years, after all Potter were old and wealthy, if everything said about them was true.

She would just have to persuade him to help her out, not that she thought back much effort of her part. She would just have made a logical agreement, where Harry could see profit in it, since Harry often followed logic over emotions. She also started to thinking over what her mother meant by real world.

**The Forgotten Lord**

**Albus Pov**

Seeing the owl return and place the letter on desk for the second time, he'd realized that Harry had to be under wards set to block any charmed mail, which was annoying; it also meant that the ministry was on his back continuously, so they could get new address to apply the monitoring wards. Even if it was minor problem, but receiving a daily owl about the issue, was just time wasteful.

Sighing, the boy was becoming a headache, far greater than his father had been with his pranking ways. It did not matter really he had his bases covered; he had contacted the director of the prophet to block anything coming from Mr Potter. So it would never reach the press, he also gifted the director, with nice five thousand galleons to sweeten the deal.

Now he just had to find Harry before anything else could happen, which he hadn't planned for.

He could try Fawkes, but problem was Fawkes could only 'find' people if he knew them, or they called Fawkes to them. Since Fawkes had not encounter boy since he was baby, it meant Fawkes was useless in finding the boy to bypassed wards what had been thrown up.

Besides Fawkes had made it clear over the years; he wouldn't carry charmed mail unless absolutely necessary. And this wasn't necessary in his beloved Phoenix opinion.

Deciding to try a different series of charms, ones he personally made over years to track mail, and see if one of them would be successful, before reattaching the mail to waiting owl. Pushing thoughts of Harry from his mind, so he could focus on the bigger issue of Neville's training.

Neville was already too skilled for his liking, and he needed to be slow down the boy's development down to that of his peers. Professor Quirrell had started this with his limited teaching of the first years, ensuring the boy's first year had been wasted, and learnt nothing but theories.

Sure he wanted the boy to be capable of defending himself, but he needed Neville to be controllable. And by limiting the boy's growth also meant that if Neville ever fell to the dark side, he wouldn't be as skilled or as powerful, hence could be easily captured and redeemed... or if necessary removed for the greater good.

Now he just had to find a suitable teacher for the post, not that many were willing to risk the chances of curse since one in three died on average. Yes he done the maths over the years, now odds were in line with crippling injury, since it been far too long. Yes it was cold of him, but necessary, since it wouldn't do for someone talented to be needlessly wasted.

Going through a mental list of candidates, what could be considered 'disposable' if the worst case happened? Several names pop up, but one took his focus, Gilderoy Lockhart.

If one believes the man's books he was next becoming of Merlin, if everything Molly said was true. But if he remembered correctly Gilderoy had been an average student at best, when he had passed through the halls of Hogwarts. If the man had suddenly got his act together and grown up then it was possible, or something was a foot, either way he decided to invite Gilderoy Lockhart for meeting and to talk to him in person.

First if the man was next Merlin like Molly described, it would be best to gain control of him before another did for the light side. If not then he could not afford another rival for his position as the grand light mage, and he could arrange for some way to disgrace him, or if needs be to remove him. After all the light couldn't afford to be divided in the coming darkness, therefore for greater good Gilderoy would have to be removed, since only he could do what must be done.

And if the man was a fraud, well then he would be suitable for teaching for year, and he could always be used as a scapegoat just as Quirrell had ended up being. Either way the man would serve a purpose in his plans.

Now he just had to wait to find out what Lucius was planning, so he could begin setting the stage. Maybe it was time for Neville to suffer a fall in popularity as well, to help control him, and tam the young lion. It would also help Minerva in keeping the lions in check, if their leader was named and shamed rather publicly.

After all, the Boy was encouraging others to break the rules, so if he became a black sleep, then it would limit his confidence. And it would help to restrain him, and allow his agent to move closer into Neville's circle of friends. He would just have to encourage Ron to stay loyal and shoulder the storm of bad feelings to Neville.

Plus it would teach the boy about just how fast the public opinion could change, for better or worse, and would help harden the lad to it. So Neville would be prepared for future, when such rumours and gossip were far more harmful, and public, rather than just being in the school halls.

**The Forgotten Lord**

**Harry Pov**

A week had passed since telling Tonks, and it had proven to be fortunate telling her the truth. Now Tonks seemed to spend every spare moment visiting him, so she could practise her spell work, and skills without her parents knowing. Also had taken to using the archery range he had set up, after he had explained his logic behind it.

When he had asked her what her parents thought she was doing, she had said she was around her boyfriend's house or hanging around with school mates, which frankly was amusing because 'Michael Hutt' was all but forgotten about now.

He had also arrange for private appointment with Ayra, in next couple days, hopefully everything be processing well.

But today he was visiting Padma and her family, not that it matter much, but he wouldn't be able to talk to Padma for over a month since she was going to visit her family in India. So they thrown together this last minute get together for chat.

Walking up the main drive way, towards the manors front doors, the manor itself was moderate in size as far as he could tell; after all it was his first manor he had ever visited. It had a Victorian design, which was odd, considering that he would have thought it would have Indian features, but considering it may be ambassadors' residents provide in part by ministry, not so much.

Knocking on the front door, before being allowed in by a house elf whose name he didn't catch.

Where he waited in the reception room, looking around the room, it an odd mixture of Victorian features, with Indian decorations, it was an interesting mix. Not his personal taste, but it was nice to a point.

Eventually Padma and her mother arrived on the scene, resulting in him almost being crush from Padma's hug, before gesturing to her mother. "Let me introduce you to my mother." It was easy to see the resemble between the pair, Padma mother appeared to be in her mid 20's, but that really meant nothing with magic, since magicals aged slower depending on their magical strength, so for all he could know she could be in her late forties. He also remembered that Padma had older brother, so it was good chance that was the case.

Going into full charm mode, one that was rarely seen around Hogwarts "Lady Patli, It's a pleasure to finally meet you, I must say it's clear where your daughters receive their beauty from," he said, before kissing her hand, before flashing a smile, causing Padma to blush at the remark, at the same time as getting a minor blush from her mother.

That was interesting, since he expected she would be use to such comments from meeting different lords, which meant either that she was young, as her appearance suggested or she had lived a rather sheltered life, and didn't get out much. Or he was just that charming, which he personally like the sound of, but he doubted it.

"Charmed, its pleasure to finally meet you, Padma has spoken most highly of you, it was unfortunate we were unable to meet you sooner," she replied, making a subtle reference to the platform.

"Thank you, it is unfortunate, however due to the train being delayed leaving, it made me late for meeting with my account manager, and as I'm sure you know Goblins hate time wasters, and the last thing I wanted to do was upset the fellow who manages my accounts," he replied respectfully, offering an explanation.

"Padma, how about you give Harry here a tour of the house, I'll go find out what your sister and Lavender are up to," she said before leaving them.

"I guess I'll give you the tour then," Padma stated.

The next hour or so was filled with Padma showing him around, the house was turning out to be most impressive. During it he made small talk, but one thing he noticed was Padma mother regularly popping up discreetly, checking up on them or eavesdropping. It didn't matter all that much, it made sense she would be interested in her daughters friends.

Plus wouldn't surprise him if she was already checking to see if there was any possibility of future marriage contract, after all she was a pureblood, and it was common for families to start looking around at possible suitable matches, even if the eventually contract wasn't signed until several years later. He personally wouldn't be signing any contracts for long time, after all he wasn't going to 'buy' a wife.

"And here's our library".

"Impressive," he said, whilst looking over the library, maybe sometime in future he would be able to get a look at it in depth, but it seem rather small, when thinking of Hogwarts, and the amount of books and tomes he had in his own two vaults.

"Hardly, this is just what we've gather since we have been living in Britain, we have a far bigger one at our ancestral states back in India," she replied, before giving quick tour of it.

"Now that's everything, so what you fancy doing?" Padma questioned

"How about we head outside and have good chat, at the same time as playing a game of chess?" he offered, after all no point sitting inside on nice sunny day.

After getting a chess set and heading out into the garden; so they could have a quiet game on the patio, overlooking a swimming pool. Where both Pav and Lavander were sunning themselves, they didn't even notice him or Pad.

So they spent the afternoon, talking, chatting and just enjoying the sun for change. "So you looking forward to visiting your family in India?" he asked.

"Yea, it be nice to see my brother, and my aunts and uncles, it's been several years since we all had a collective get together."

"Yea must be nice, plus you get to see another culture and all," he replied.

"Hardly, most of time I'll be forced to stay within the state, and play nice with my cousins," she explained, while looking out over the grounds.

"Oh, that's a shame, I was going to asked if you could pick up any spells books on runes, and wards, and any DADA ones." He asked, thinking over the advantages of using foreign spells.

"Why is that?" Lady Patil asked, surprising him with her sudden appearance, before casually draping herself across one of the chairs.

"Simple really, a man cannot defend himself if he does not know the spell, by using spells and wards, what are non-native to Europe it will give me advantage in any fight, giving me better chance of surviving to old age," he said seriously, whilst thinking over the additional areas of magical knowledge he could gain access to, since rituals, and blood magic were still in practise in India.

"Boys, always thinking of fighting, duels and glory," she said in disapproving manner.

"Maybe Madam, but being last Potter I need every advance I can get, besides their no guarantee I would even use the knowledge, but it's better to be prepared, than lacking then you need it," he answered politely, getting impression that Padma mother was very much an idealist.

"Indeed, Well spoken, It's better to be prepare and ready for the future, than not, it shows that you have fine making for being head of family," came the a smooth voice with heavy Indian accent, what could only be Padma father.

"Lord Patli, its pleasure to meet you," while shaking the man's hand, forgoing any charm, deciding get down to business.

"Indeed, both my daughters' speck very highly of you, are you staying for dinner?" He asked

"Only if I'm not a burden, I understand you are busy with preparations for your travels, and I don't want to intrude," he responded, giving the lord an easy way out of the invite.

"Of course, I'll just have House elves set another plate" he replied.

"Thank you, I was wondering If I could talk to you about some possible business both our houses can profit from?" he asked, wondering if he at all would be taken seriously.

"Perhaps, but you guardian should handle this on your behalf," Lord Patli said in a disproving tone.

"Well my guardian at times does not have my best interest at heart, and this is just an idea on the drawing board. I'm just trying to see if there will be any interest in the idea." He answered seriously.

"Then let's retire to my office and discuses business then, follow me," he ordered, before leading harry to his office, neither Padma or lady Patil make any tempts to follow. The office itself was very unique, similar in many ways to Bloodmoons, But far more homely with Hindu themes.

"What is it you wanted to discuses, I hope you not wasting my time," Lord Patli stated in non-nonsense tone. Causing him to decide to cut the sweet talk, and just give his pitch.

"I'll keep it short then, I understand that you run one of the biggest shipping companies coming from Far East and are responsible for majority of shipping from India. I myself own series of independence dockyards outside the ministry taxation and control. In the near future I hope to reopen these docks, if I can find enough interest. I am sure you can see the potential to lower your running costs, and get higher profit, and uncut your rivals further ensuring your own continued control of the market." Taking a break to catch his breath, before continuing on with his sales pitch.

"So at the moment I am currently asking around to find out if individuals such as you would be interested. After all if there is another dock opened, it means other owners will be forced to lower their own prices to compete, either way you can gain." He answered, hoping his pitch was good enough, since it was first time he had spoken allowed of this idea. Sure Bloodmoon loved the idea on paper, but reading something was different from doing something.

Several minutes passed, with Lord Patli examining him carefully, clearly thinking over the idea, since it wasn't immediately shot down, before he responded "I admit the idea has merit, and could be profitable, with the right conditions, what are your plans so far?" He questioned

"My plans are limited at the moment since this would required a great deal of energy, and would no doubt cause opposition from other lord's with ownership of docks, I am just trying to find out if I started such an undertaking in next couple years, that there would be interest for it, I'll leave the contracts and deals to my account manager, since he is far more experience than I am at this time," he replied, deciding that honesty was best deal.

"Indeed your goblins do like their contracts, In India we have no Goblins, all business affairs are manage by families. May I ask why the docks haven't been open before? Or why I haven't heard of them," he questioned.

"From my understanding, you moved to England several years after the war had ended. Prior to the war, the Potter dockyards were the biggest independently owned in the country, however due to my family standing up against Lord Voldemort, these docklands were key target, and were destroyed. And were never rebuilt due to they were indefensible, causing much of our business partners to move elsewhere, to docks which were protected from attacks. Either due to them being in league with fallen dark lord, or were neutral, effectively resulting in Lord Voldemort's followers gaining massive economical gains, since they were only ones who did not have to fear attack. After the war my Magicial Guardian never made the effort to rebuild them, instead left the running of my account to goblins, whilst sending me off to my non-magical relatives," he explained, telling all necessary facts.

"Understandable, I admit I am interested, and so will my family since due to us being non-native, we are forced to pay additional fees, and this offers a chance to get around this. However I make no promises, I like the idea, but if things change in future, I'll make my decision at time, I am sure you can understand, it's just business." Lord Patli answered.

"Understandable, I would do the same," he answered honesty.

"Now that business is done, I think we should return to the women," he said, before leading him back to garden where Padma was waiting, Pav and Lavender had joined them.

The rest of day flew by, as he 'played' nice and charming around the girls, like any gentlemen would, making small talk, commenting on their ideas, whilst at same time walking the tightrope, to ensure he did nothing to upset them. Padma of course saw through it, she had seen him swap, from charming, to brutally honest at a moment's notice in the common room countless amount of times.

Dinner had been a rather formable affair, he had learned that in India that elf houses weren't used, and human servants were instead, provide by lesser houses under the family protection. It surprised him really he always assumed that House elves were common thing amongst, he never realized they mainly located in Western Europe.

In all and all it was interesting day, but he was content with it. He had achieved several objectives, of setting good impressions, discussing possible business, and frankly winning over Patli's, by time he was leaving, he was calling Lady Patli by her first name, Sevita that meant cherish in her native tongue.

Now he just hoped that other meeting of parents went as well, as this one had. Turning to his Mother's Journal, he was nearing the end of it, it caused mix feelings, he wanted to read more, but each time he turn a page he knew he was getting closer to his mother's death.

Turning to where he had left off the previous evening.

_We have agreed to go into hiding today, the manor has proven it's ineffective in holding off Death Eater attacks, it's only a matter of time before outer wards fail and they can get within the inner wards and then it's only a matter of time. Our safe house we had been building in secret was destroy today as well, proving there is a spy within our ranks, leaking information. I am so scared, soon we have nowhere to run, nowhere to rest and lick our wounds, when will this nightmare end? Sometimes I just wish I knew why Lord Voldemort has such an interest in us, I am sure Albus knows why were being hunted or at least has theories, but why won't he tell us?_

_It is so frustrating knowing that the man knows the answers to our questions, but refuses to share; doesn't he realize that it's our lives he's playing with? And he wonders why Me and James are questioning his leadership of late. At times I expect he just using the information as form of control, to ensure we have to play our part in his order, it such a joke, stunning? And capturing? Just so they can escape, we're at war, they should be killed soon as were finished questioning them, maybe then we would stand a chance at winning._

_I know James agrees with me, even more now with his parents deaths. I know that he is no longer throwing stunners, I saw him killed two this evening when we got separate from other members of the order. I shed no tears for their deaths, they wouldn't for me. I don't know if they were high ranking members, or common thugs, I just don't care. I have to admit that I wasn't holding back either, I hit one with high power cutting curse in the shoulder taking the man's arm off, I don't know whether he survived, since he was able to port-key away, but I know if my next curse had hit it would of been a killed._

_It scary, when I left Hogwarts I could never imagine myself killing anyone, not even in anger, just proves how naive I was. At least I got a good reason to, unlike those rapist and murders, who just kill for wealth and power. I wonder if I will lose myself in this war, and if I will ever be able to gain it back? It scares me when I think back over it, that I was more than willing to kill that death eater, and don't even regret it. Must be because I see death and read of death daily now, and bury my friends... I wonder how long to my luck runs out, I just hope that Harry and James will live if I fall._

_Me and James have started putting safeguards in place to ensure Harry will be well care for if we die, Bloodmoon has been most helpful, He is indeed most loyal to us. It mostly helps we treat him fairly and as equal compare to how other wizards and witches treat his race. _

_Hopefully these safeguards will never be used, but at least we prepared, and ensure Harry would take the __Peverell__ name, hopefully it turn out to be gift and not a curse._

Reading this he wonder what is mother was going on about, gift and curse...? Maybe he would have to ask Bloodmoon, since he had apart ensured he would take up that title. Pushing the thoughts aside for later, since there had been no obvious side affect of taking up the Peverell Lordship that he could tell, besides increase growth rate of his magical core, before he went back to reading his mother's journal.

_Now me and James are debating what to do next, Albus is refusing to allow us to stay at Hogwarts temporary whilst we made arrangements. But I can understand his reasoning, not wishing to made Hogwarts a bigger target or endanger any of his students. But he did recommend using the Fidelius charm to hide us. I've looked over the requirements for it, and I could cast it, I just have to get Peter or Sirius to agree to be our secret keeper since their doubts of Remus's loyalty since werewolves are openly supporting lord Voldemort. Which is rather stupid since it the Dark Lord's supporters are what are keeping them suppress and as an outcast... sometimes I do wonder what sense there is in the world..._

**End of Chapter**

* * *

><p><strong>Author note<strong>, I hope I got translation right, tell me if I'm wrong, also Lord Patli is to point sexist due to being raised in time where male dominated magical sociality, to him it is common practise for men to discuss business alone.


	20. Y2 Pest Control

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure Let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note: **This is pretty heavy hitting chapter. But rather short compare to my recent ones, only just over 6k in the end. Because I felt otherwise it was bit overwhelming to read, in a single sitting.

Btw, chapter 1, 2, 3 and 4 have been reposted.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord** - **Chapter 20:**

**The Secret Keeper and Pest Control**

**Revised by ****BuckeyeForLife**

_Peter has agreed to be our secret keeper. He argued that Sirius would be the obvious choice, hence a far greater target for Death Eaters, not even Albus will know of the switch. After all, if Albus believes that Sirius is our choice, then the Death Eater's will as well. I must say it was a very cunning idea of Peter's, who knew he had it in him? So Sirius will act as a decoy..._

Reading rapidly over the next couple pages, he realized the possible implications if what his mother's journal suggested were true.

_The charm has finally been cast; who knew it would take so much energy? No wonder it is rarely used, I almost knocked myself out cold doing it. We told the Order last night that Sirius was our secret keeper, so whoever the spy is, they'll inform You-Know-Who and will go after Sirius instead. I still feel wrong for endangering our friend in such away, but these are troubled times. If Sirius is willing to shoulder this burden for our sake, I should acknowledge his courage._

Harry looked up from the journal in shock, his godfather could be innocent! Then why was his godfather in jail? This needed to be investigated. After all, his godfather was meant to be his guardian, and if he was being falsely imprisoned then it was a serious miscarriage of justice.

Over the next couple of days, he discreetly visited the ministry of magic and started looking around the records office, trying to track down any evidence of a trial or the man's guilt. He found nothing concrete, only Dumbledore's word that Sirius was guilty. By the looks of it, he was just thrown in jail through the use of emergency powers and was forgotten about.

Not that he could really blame them. At the time everything was in melt down, but you would think they would at least have a trial after everything calmed down just to tidy up loose ends. Even well known Death Eaters had been given a trial for proprieties sake.

Looking up at one of the big, charmed clocks to see he still had another couple hours before his meeting with Rita, Harry decided to visit Madam Bones in person to make his case.

Silently slipping through the Department of Law Enforcement, unseen and unheard, Harry reached Madam Bones' office, where he de-cloaked much to the secretary's surprise. It was quite amusing really; one would think the head of law enforcement's office would be better protected.

"I would like see Madam Bones immediately please. I have evidence that could prove a man innocent of murder," he requested, trying to be polite, but forceful in such a way that was fitting with his station.

"Do you have appointment?" She asked.

"No, because I came straight here," Harry replied, guessing that he was just about to get kicked out.

"Then you have to come back next week Thursday, until then Madam Bones is busy," the secretary replied in authoritative tone.

"I'm not going anywhere until I see her, otherwise I can promise you I'll go to Prophet with this story, and how do you think the public will react? You will be used as the scapegoat and kicked out ministry faster than you can say Quidditch," he threatened. In truth he had no desire to go to Prophet unless it was his last option since it occurred to him it could very well endanger Sirius' life. However, the secretary didn't know that.

The stare down lasted god knows how long, before he was eventually permitted to enter.

Madam Bones presented an image that was as stern as her title suggested, giving a rather positive impression of a capable individual. "Madam Bones, I am Harry James Potter. You received a letter from me last Christmas," he said, causing the elder women to look up from her papers.

"How did you get in here? I wasn't supposed to be disturbed," she said, looking at her secretary standing in the door way.

"I intimidated your secretary into letting me in, since I have discovered evidence proving a man is innocent of murder. If she hadn't, I would of gone to the Daily Prophet," Harry answered, in his most serious tone, letting the secretary off the hock.

"Leave us," she said to her secretary, before turning to face him. "So Mr. Potter, we finally meet in person. I trust my advice to you over Christmas was useful."

"Indeed, I collected the necessary evidence and made an official complaint to the Deputy Headmistress, with my head of house present, so the Headmaster couldn't keep it quiet even if he wanted to. It also helped that the Headmistress was already annoyed with Snape, due to him having cost her the house cup this year. I made it clear to both of them that I would tell the press, like you suggested, as well as making several reasonable demands for my silence," he explained.

"Did you consider that Dumbledore may cut you off from press? How would you get your story out?" she challenged.

Thinking over the point rapidly, the Prophet could only do so much, and Dumbledore's name and influence was legendary in Britain. However, couldn't he just send the story elsewhere? Plus, if he got Sirius free, then Sirius could be used to push the complaint forward, causing him to smile sinisterly as a plan formed.

"Madam, I would take the story to the overseas press, such as France, and give their newspapers the story and all the necessary evidence. Eventually it would echo across the channel through political connections, leading to the story being heard anyways. Also, the simple fact I wasn't able to get the story out in Britain would add creditability to it, because my guardian tried to suppress the story. Plus with it being international, it would do much more damage than it could ever do in England alone, since the English press is considered a bit of joke at times." He had a rather sinister smile at the damage he could do and how much his position would be strengthened, not even Daphne had thought of that idea.

"Then, there's also the fact that Dumbledore is well respected in Europe, but at nowhere near the same level as in Britain and his influence is less there, which gives the story more chance of being published and spread."

Madam Bones seemed to blink twice at that before she gave a chuckle, "Well I didn't expect that. I was personally going to suggest that you find another Lord or Lady to act on your behalf, but your idea seems to work better, and could do some serious harm."

"Indeed Madam, the press will quickly pick up story and there will be demands for Professor Snape to be questioned by many of the houses and factions, which can't be ignored and swiped under the rug. At least not without the Headmaster losing his influence and respect, it would also upset some of his own allies. The average wizard and witch will call for justice since their own children will be either attending Hogwarts, or will do so in the future. Plus, it will help distract Dumbledore while I make a move to push this forward," he said while handing over his mother's journal, so Madam Bones could examine it.

"What's this?" she said looking at the journal in business like fashion.

"It's my mother's journal Madam," he said respectfully, before offering an explanation of why it was so important. "She had it throughout the course of her life, right up until the time she was murdered. If you turn to the marked paged, you will see that it talks about the Fidelius charm and my parents decision on who their secret keeper should be. That is the reason why I am here. The journal states, that Peter Pettigrew was their secret keeper and Sirius Black was a decoy. I checked the records office and the man wasn't even given a trial. Even known Death Eater's such as Bellatrix Lestrange were given one," he stated, in a disapproving fashion.

Throughout his whole summary Madam Bones stayed deathly silent and just listened, before frowning at finding out that their wasn't even a trial. "This is most serious. I'll have him questioned immediately, but he may still be guilty of killing several muggles, even if he did not betray your parents."

"I understand Madam, but I'd like know the truth of the matter, since he is my godfather and accused of the murder of my parents. But I would advise discretion in handling this case, it could get bloody," he stated soberly, thinking over what could possibly happen.

Madam Bones sent him a questioning look, obviously not seeing the bigger picture straight away. Then again, he had last two days to think the issue over all the possible plots and schemes.

Trying to think of where to start with his explanation, Harry said,"Sirius is Lord Black as you know, but remember Lord Malfoy is currently holding the Blackvotes and seats. His wife and his son are currently the default heirs to the House of Black if Sirius dies without a son, or without declaring his own heir and successor. Lord Malfoy will undoubtedly make moves to counter or eliminate Sirius before he could ever be released and declare his own successor. Then, add the fact that Dumbledore may interfere; to prevent Sirius's release for number of reasons. First, if Sirius is freed, the Headmaster loses the Potter votes and all the influence he gains as my guardian. Also, Sirius hates Snape, and will push for charges against the potions master."

Harry briefly though over the other side of the argument, why the Headmaster may aid the notion, before stating, "But the Headmaster may actually support the move if he believes that he can gain Lord Black's support and still manage to keep my votes through Sirius, due to Sirius once being part of the Headmaster's Order. Then, there is also the fact of the Lestrange votes. If Sirius is released, due to Bella's marriage and him being her lord, he can act as proxy for Lestrange Family votes, which are also being held by Lord Malfoy through his wife's connection to the Black Family. Lord Malfoy cannot let Sirius become Lord Black, he will lose too much of his political capital. He would go from being a first rate player, whose vote is worth the same as a dozen lesser households, to being the same as every other house of his status, who he has lorded his position over. It would tip the balance of power in the courts into the Headmaster's favour and Sirius, though acting as my proxy, will become the most powerful individual Lord within the Wizengamot. His single vote would be worth the same as a couple of small factions, not to mention if he marries a daughter of another house he could cement additional allies."

Seeing he still had Madam Bones attention, who was clearly listening while his mind ran at full pace, thinking over all the possibilities. "Then, take into account the upcoming vote for a new minister. Lord Malfoy would lose his pull over his candidate, decreasing his influence in the next government. As the leader of his own pureblood faction, he would be left exposed to being challenged by his peers, since he no longer has the same influence. And he would be forced to seek and negotiate new agreements, and to create alliances with smaller parties to bolster his voting bloc. This would leave him committed to other parties and having to fulfil his promises, otherwise he could lose their votes. That in turn will force him to change his voting position away from his extreme stance, causing his own faction to challenge him. Then just think how many enemies he has made in the Wizengamot over the years, it will cost him dearly to secure a fraction of the power he once had." Looking over to see Madam Bones nod, following his logic, before continuing on his summary.

"The house of Malfoy's political power would collapse, and as long as Sirius played a respectful Lord and did nothing to piss off other households, Sirius could very well hold the balance of power in the Wizengamot for the next six years, and even create his own faction." Ending his explanation he said, "Then also take into account there is a good chance that the house of Malfoy is in breach of their original marriage contract with the Black family, which will lead to the Malfoy family having to suffer one of the failure clauses, causing more damage. If everything I've been told about marriage contracts is true," he stated, thinking over the practice of contracts between households.

"Impressive Mr. Potter, it seems you already are seeing the political games of the Wizengamot. To answer your question, there is a good chance that the Malfoy family has breached at least one condition, since most agreements have at least one clause promising mutual support. Since Lord Malfoy has done nothing to help Lord Black, this broken clause will probably lead to financial reimbursement, possibly the cancellation of the marriage," she stated sagely. "How did you come to be so knowledgeable?"

"I have a good friendship with the Greengrass heiress. During school we often debate such things and play games of cause and effect, she is extremely knowledgeable on the Wizengamot, and the political players. I also happen to be distantly related to the Black family, to the point that Lord Malfoy's wife is my cousin," he stated, thinking over how grateful he was for having Daphne to debate with and fill in areas where his knowledge was lacking.

"So if word gets out that Lord Black may be cleared of charges, Lord Malfoy will have Sirius killed as soon as he realizes the scale of the danger. Then we need to be discreet about this. I'll personally question Sirius tonight, if he is innocent then I'll arrange for him to move to more comfortable conditions. I'll also get a protection detail set up to keep him safe and I'll work to arrange for an emergency trial to be set up," she stated in a business like fashion. "But I'll have to wait and see, I think it would be best if you avoided meeting me, for couple weeks at least, because this is going to take time."

Smiling, Madam Bones said, "My niece Susan's birthday is coming up in a couple of week's time. I'll get her to send you invite so we can meet under the pretence of her party, where we can talk."

"Sounds good, the best way to contact me is through my account manager, Bloodmoon, at Gringotts. I'll make him aware of this and he will pass on the letter."

"Why not use an owl?" Madam Bones questioned.

"It's safer, owls are easy to intercept if someone is interested. Plus the wards around my house block most mail, expect from approved sources," he stated.

"Now I need to get to work and figure out a way to handle this mess, without attracting any attention," she said, dismissing him.

"Yes Madam. May I suggest you ensure that your secretary understands the consequences if she speaks of my visit." he stated. He would try to have his own informant within the Aurors if he was ever up to no good, so it made sense that a criminal such as Lord Malfoy would have his own spy to monitor the department head.

Madam Bones' eyes narrowed for a second, "Indeed, it would be best if this was kept quiet."

_**The Forgotten Lord**_

**Same day**

"Ms. Skeeter, please take a seat. I have a very high profile story you will be interested in, if we can come to understandable terms," Harry said to the blond reporter, getting straight down to business.

"What type of story are you implying?"

"The scandalous type, involving a respected members of high society," he hinted, seeing her eyes light up.

"May I ask who the subject of this story is?" She asked, pulling out her quill.

"Hogwarts Professor uses Dark Arts on heir to Ancient and Noble house," he stated, watching as Rita's face lit up with desire. "I have the evidence and witnesses to support these claims," Harry said holding up a little black note book. "I am also willing to provide memories if needed."

"Well, I'm very much interested, especially if you can provide evidence to support it, since I'll be taking on some big players. But what do you get out this?"

"Well Ms. Skeeter, first I want the story to be as factual as possible, but I also want it to be scandalous. So feel free to get a bit creative with your writing. I also want you to wait until you have my permission to release it, since I am going to be having a meeting with some Hogwarts professors within the next couple days. If they agree to my terms, the story won't be necessary, but if they don't, well the story is all yours. You will find it is very big and could be considered the biggest story of the summer. I am also willing to provide you with another story equally as shocking; as well as set you up with a one on one interview with the poor victim, if you agree to my terms and conditions," he said seriously.

"Well you know you're not giving me much to go on," she probed, trying to find out more.

"Well Ms. Skeeter, until I get a signed agreement with you, you won't. But I can promise you both stories will be big and shocking. I can guarantee front page headlines, along with all the supporting arguments," he stated as he was getting up. "If you want the stories then meet me in Gringotts in four days time at noon in the office of my account manager, Bloodmoon."

"What, you're not going to give me the story now?" she in a shocked fashion.

"Oh no, this is just a taster. If you want the full scoop then I'll see you next Monday," he said, before leaving the blonde, thinking over how well he had played his part. He had given her just enough to wet her appetite for more, so over next couple days it would fester and grow. Putting on his Invisibility cloak, Harry disappeared as he rounded the corner.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Rita emerge looking for him, causing him to smirk beneath his cloak. But fate seemed to throw him a bone, as he watched Rita sunk before his eyes, before disappearing. Blinking a couple times, he saw a bug hovering in the air where she had been standing, causing him to ask, was Rita an illegal animagus? Was that how she got all her stories? Now this was most interesting, most interesting indeed...

**Four days Later – Bloodmoon's Office**

"Good morning Bloodmoon, thank you for allowing me to use this office for this meeting. Hopefully Ms. Skeeter won't try anything funny," he said, taking one of the seats across from Bloodmoon.

"You're welcome, the contract is already written up," Bloodmoon said while handing over the document.

"Thanks, do you know anything about the Peverell family being cursed? Because in one of the books I read, it hinted that they were cursed," he said, thinking of his mother's journal.

"I'm afraid not, your parents never told me," Bloodmoon said most seriously.

"Ok, I also want to do an inspection of the Potter and Peverell holdings sometime this summer to see how they operate. This way the reports have more value if I actually know what they are talking about," he stated, moving back to business. He had been reading his monthly statements and their corresponding reports the previous day and the idea occurred to him to inspect his investments and businesses.

"Very well, I'll make the arrangements," Bloodmoon said.

"Thanks, I also should tell you what else I've discovered recently, but I ask for your discretion, and trust you keep this strictly between us. If everything goes in our favour, Albus Dumbledore will no longer be considered my guardian. I found evidence suggesting Lord Black is innocent," he said seriously, not bothering to ask for an oath, since Bloodmoon was already sworn to protect his interests and secrets as his account manager, as long it didn't go against the goblin state,

"A most interesting development, it seems the fortunes of fate favour us, there is profit in this," Bloodmoon stated, his eyes lighting up, clearly seeing how this could be used for profit.

"Indeed, I have a connection to the Black household through blood as you know. If my godfather does not sire an heir, then there is a good chance it will fall to me when he eventually succumbs to old age. But I think you can imagine both our houses working together, there is a lot of potential for profit," he said, causing Bloodmoon's features to light up at the prospects.

However, before he could continue there was a knock on the door, before a goblin guard appeared and announced, "Ms. Skeeter."

"Let her in," Bloodmoon commanded.

Ms. Skeeter sauntered in, taking the spare seat, wearing a pale cream coloured dress, similar to one she worn in their previous meeting. "Now I'm here, what's the story?" she demanded, ignoring his account manager and the goblins at the door.

"Ms. Skeeter, you'll get the story after you sign this contract," Harry stated in a no nonsense fashion prior to handing over the magical contract along with a blood quill.

Rita looked over the contract, before saying angrily, "I can't sign this, it takes away too much of my creative freedoms."

"Yes you can, if you want to get a story and you don't want to go to jail," he threatened, deciding to follow the hunch that she was illegal bug animagus. It would explain how she always had some shockingly private story.

"How dare you threaten me, you arrogant boy," she demanded heatedly, getting out of her seat, totally ignoring Bloodmoon presence with his clawed hand resting on a nearby axe.

"I'll threaten all I want, I know your secret and it will ruin you. And sit down you idiot before you do something foolish," he commanded, wondering if she would be stupid enough to actually cast a spell at him, here of all places with pair of goblin guards so close.

"How dare you threaten me little boy!" she screeched, before sending an unrecognised spell at him. As soon as the spell left her wand an alarm began to sound off, causing a dozen heavily armed guards to immediately rush in with a mixture of spears, axes, swords and bows.

"Drop your wand human or die!" the lead Goblin guard commanded.

"Master Guardmen, this witch is an illegal bug animagus, she can easily escape unless you seal the doors," he stated respectfully, causing Rita to pale even more, as she realized the trouble she was in and the knowledge her secret was out. The guard sealed the room, making the walls begin glow a silvery purple.

"Animagus wards have been activated, if she changes she will die quickly," Bloodmoon stated emotionlessly, his whole face taking on a rather disturbing appearance.

Walking up and grabbing her wand from her hand, Harry passed it over to Bloodmoon, before Rita could do something else foolhardy.

"Ms. Skeeter, you have made a most foolish mistake by pulling your wand out within goblin territory, they can have your head on principle. And you have no friends here, after all if I recall correctly, last year you produced several articles about goblins, which were rather insulting and degrading," he said, seeing a reaction from the guards.

"However, you have a chance to walk out this room alive. We just have to make a new deal," he explained, watching as Rita suddenly realised just how close to death she was.

"Fine, I'll sign," she snapped, moving towards the contract just as Harry pulled it away.

"I'm afraid my dear this contract is no longer valid, is it Bloodmoon?" he asked his account manager who was wearing a sinister smile, understanding Harry was following one of the Goblins own rules of business. The more cards you held, the more you piled on the pressure. If you held all the cards, like he did it was no longer a negotiation, it was surrender or die. "Indeed, Mr Potter is correct, the terms no longer fit the situation," Bloodmoon said as he tore up the paper.

Harry smiled at his account manager before stating the new terms, "Now Ms. Skeeter, you work for me until I say otherwise. If I say print this, you say what font. If I say bury the story, you bury it and if I tell you to jump, you ask how high. You will protect my secrets, protect my family and my allies, and I will have your total obedience and submission. Do you understand Ms. Skeeter?" he asked, feeling no desire to be merciful to the reporter, who would sell out her own grandmother for headline. After all, he who lacks mercy lacks enemies, before he continued now offering the carrot rather than the stick.

"However Ms. Skeeter, I reward people who work for me successfully. If you do your part well, you'll be wealthy and in time well protected. You can either choose life," gesturing with one hand, "or death," pointing to the guards, who were all wearing sinister smiles, watching the show.

"Where do I have to sign?" asked the defeated reporter, collapsing into the chair.

**An hour later**

"Good girl," he said with bit of humour, watching the guards leave. "Now for the ground rules; first you will stop printing any anti-creature stories and whenever reporting on the goblins you will paint them in the best light possible," he said. Bloodmoon's eyes lit up at the notion before Harry continued, "Like stated in the contract and in the vow you made, you will work to protect my interests and my allies. I consider goblins as my friends, hence you will treat them as such, do you understand?"

"Yes, my Lord," Rita replied submissively.

"Good, now on to the story I want you to prepare," he said before starting to explain about the potion master's use of mind arts on minors, how it was illegal, and how it he could be stealing family secrets from their heirs. He saw Rita's expression begin to pick up, catching on to the scale of the story.

"Good, you understand. I want you to paint the most damming picture possible of the man."

"Also Rita, you are not allowed to mention to anyone what happened in this room. You're not allowed to speak about it or write about it," he said, not feeling the desire for rumours to start going around that he was a dark lord, like the rumours Ron Wealsey had spread around Hogwarts already.

"Yes, my Lord," Rita said.

"Good, wait outside, we will talk more after we're done," he ordered, before watching her leave. Turning to Bloodmoon he said, "I believe we can both profit from today's events since having Rita under my control will help cut down on any anti-goblin propaganda in the press."

"I deed, I must say that was rather clever of you, but please tell me next time before you do something like that again."

"I didn't plan on it, at least not to that extent; I saw a chance to get a measure of control over her and took it. I won't have her ten years from now causing trouble, using whatever knowledge she gains from me to blackmail me. If she had just signed the original agreement that would have been fine, but she didn't, and acted stupid and rashly, giving me a chance to...'recruit' her on a more permanent basis. Far better to be ruthless, when one can, it removes enemies that could later cause problems, and sends a message," he explained his mind set, already thinking how having an agent within the Prophet would be useful.

"Very well said, she has created a lot of enemies here. If you hadn't intervened she would have been killed and had her head posted outside on a spike," Bloodmoon said seriously. "The only reason she lived today was your actions, even if she doesn't realize it, and possibly never will."

"If she was so unpopular around here, why does she still have an account?" Harry questioned.

"Because being a nuisance isn't a breach of the treaty, but the moment she pulled out her wand, her life was forfeit. I would have ended her life myself and dumped the remains on the bank steps, for all to see. The senior management would have backed my decision fully, since she is a well known witch for her stories and it would have sent a clear message, that position and status cannot protect you here, if you cross us." Gesturing around the office Bloodmoon continued, "Plus I would of probably got a bonus for it," he stated seriously, hanging up his battle axe.

Understanding the subtle message, that Bloodmoon may like him, but goblins were firmly in charge here, "I trust the guards will keep quiet about what happened here?" Harry quizzed.

"Indeed, they are under oaths to not disclose anything that happens within meetings, or within offices, without either my order or that of the Director's. I'll give them a summary if they ask about it, but we here at Gringotts take our clients privacy most seriously," Bloodmoon stated.

"Good, could you book a bigger meeting room for next Friday for my sit down with the Hogwarts professors? As well as have several armed guards stationed; I want to make sure the professors understand how serious I am. Hopefully it will stop anyone from doing anything foolish."

"Indeed, but it will cost you."

"How much?" Harry asked.

"Hmm, four thousand galleons an hour, however you can always get the cost covered under the terms of your agreement."

"Fine, please made the arrangements and take thousand for yourself, since you've done excellent work getting everything sorted out," he stated, thinking over how much Bloodmoon had done for him recently. Even if the goblin's success depended on his own, it still would be a wise idea to keep his manger sweet.

"Thank you."

"You're most welcome. May you gold flow, and your enemies fall to your sword," Harry said, before bowing to his account manager in a sign of respect.

"And may your enemies tremble at your sight," Bloodmoon replied, ending a traditional goblin good bye. This caused Harry to realize that he had gained a considerable amount of respect in Bloodmoon's eyes, since such mannerism were only shared with other goblins.

Walking out the door, he saw Rita sitting on one of benches waiting for him. "Follow me, and keep your distance, we will talk more in private," he stated, before walking out of the bank, thinking how useful Rita could be in his plans.

After exiting the bank, he broke the silence, "You may not realize it just yet Ms. Skeeter, but my account manger very much wanted your head," he stated plainly, feeling no need to say anymore.

**Later that Day**

"Dam Harry, you're in good mood, did everything go well?" probed Tonks.

"Everything went very well, I just gained an additional asset," he said, not really thinking about what he was saying. Instead, he was thinking over the day's events, and how after the meeting he had spent the next three hours within Rita's residence working on the articles ensuring they would be devastating if ever printed. It really was her best piece of work, due to the fact it was all grounded in stone cold facts and evidence.

He also ordered another two articles on Severus Snape's past loyalties as a Death Eater, how he never had a court-hearing, his activities before his defection and what mind arts were, and how they could be used sinisterly, playing up the harm they could cause if misused.

He had also explained about Sirius Black and the evidence of his innocence, painting a picture of a falsely imprisoned Lord, and how evidence suggests the man was set up, and how several key people had profited from it. Then, he had just allowed Rita to use her own creative talent, but he had ensured she wouldn't print either story until he gave permission.

So it had been a rather good afternoon, playing editor in chief to the articles and knowing in the end, Rita was almost fully under his control. While she could still be annoying, she couldn't cause him any trouble and ultimately no harm due to the oaths she had swore. But he did read several of the other articles she'd been currently researching and found some gold nuggets of information. He instructed her to continue working on these articles, but wait for his go ahead before publishing, since he could profit from them.

It was a shame really; he didn't have the time to monitor Rita fully to fish out the good stuff, which he could profit from, rather than it being wasted in gossip columns and rags where they wouldn't be taken seriously. Either way, Rita had a new editor in chief and he planned very much to use her 'unique' skill set to profit from.

"What did you buy then?" she asked, awaking Harry from his own internal plotting.

Thinking over what he just said, and realizing his mistake, "Nothing major, I just managed to recruit a rather resourceful person who will help protect my interests," he stated boringly. He also made an additional note to self, to interview Rita for anything else she may know, but not written about.

"Oh, not a pair of lawyers I hope."

"Na, your parents can always fit into that role. Besides, I think if everything goes as planned over the next couple months your family's fortunes will change quickly," he stated, wanting to move the topic area way from discussing today's events centring on Rita's recruitment.

"What you mean?" she probed.

"I have events set in motion, where if all goes as planned you will find that your family will profit greatly. However, I won't get your hopes up. I'll know in just under two weeks, if my lead plays off," he pondered.

"Come on Harry, please" she begged, shifting her features to a devastating puppy dog expression.

"Tonks, I'll tell you soon as I know, but what I'm doing is sensitive and needs to be kept as secret as possible. If word gets out before everything is in place, it can easily be countered. So wait, you find out the full details in time."

"Why, did you even tell me?"

"Because, it was right thing to do, and it will affect you, just as much as it will affect me. Now be patient and wait. Things such as this can't be hurried. It's like game of chess, you have to set up your pieces before you attack, in such a way that when you do, your adversary can't counter it and this I don't plan on leaving to chance." Thinking over how having Sirius freed would help things along, as well as how hinting to Tonks now that he had 'helped' free Sirius could pay off in future, rather than having someone else trying to take credit for it.

Looking over at Tonks to see she was just about to protest, he decided to move to a much safer subject, "Tonks, I want you meet a friend of mine tomorrow, she is a year younger than you, but I think you both enjoy each other's company, and frankly if you both end up working for me, you'll probably end up working together."

After Tonks had finally left to go home for the evening, he was able to send Penny a letter asking her if she could meet with him at the Leaky Cauldron the next morning.

**Next day**

Once they had both arrived, greeted each other and found somewhere they could sit down without being bothered Harry asked, "What is it you want to talk about?"

"What do you mean I thought you wanted to talk to me?"

"Na, I was referring to the letter you sent me," he probed.

"Oh, that's been taken care of, I managed to get a grant from Hogwarts," Penny said.

"That's good to hear, however tell me if you need any help. Money isn't really a problem for me," he explained, trying to not to sound boastful or arrogant of the fact he was well off.

Before she could say anything else, an owl landed next to him with a letter that had the Hogwarts seals on it. Wondering what it was, Harry opened the letter, but found it was only the Headmaster requesting his new address.

Before he could even put the letter away in his bag, so he could consider the response, there was a flash of flame just off to the right of the table. The Headmaster had flared into the magical pub, causing everyone to watch the scene as the grand light mage appeared with his beloved Phoenix resting on his shoulder.

"Mr. Potter," he greeted in his grandfatherly tone.

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note: decide it was time to just do a harry chapter, no other points of view I hoped it strikes the right balance... **


	21. Y2 Terms and Conditions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let but have good set of ideas

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Notes: **Thanks for some great reviews, currently rewriting chapters 5 and 6, and hopefully they will be posted in the near future. **Beta** has them, so just up to him now, =) so yes, I do read feedback and reviews.

**Story update: **just finished chapter 24, needs to be beta ect... and got a chapter plan for 25, Harry returns to Hogwarts in chapter 23, so the summer is almost over =) From my plan, I expected the second year to go up to chapter 34/35, don't know yet, depends if I break any chapters in half due to their length.

**The Midnight Gold - ****Chapter 21: ****Terms and Conditions, Sign here...**

**Revised by BuckeyeForLife**

**Posted****– 30****th ****Oct 2012**

"Good evening Headmaster," Harry greeted, putting on a display of calm even though his insides were erupting in nerves at being caught in the open, before the portkey to his home popped into mind.

"Harry my boy, I've been trying to find you all summer," Dumbledore said.

"Well sir, you know how to find me. In my letter, I left instructions for any communications to be sent to my account manager Bloodmoon. I am well aware you know him sir," he stated in factual manner, raising his barriers around his mind, while making sure his portkey was ready to go.

"I thought it be best for us to have a little chat. Plus I need to know where your living for school documents and administration, since you and your relatives are no longer at the residence where I placed you a decade ago."

Now that got him angry, but on outside he kept the image of being calm. It was sickening that the old man thought, he could just walk up to him and play nice and think they were on first name terms.

"Well, I have nothing to say on either point. First, I have the right to privacy and the goblins act as a mail filter, just like your letter was charmed so you could find me. And I'm not your boy, despite whatever relationship you think you had with my parents and any business you want to discuss should be done in private, not in middle of café. Secondly, at Gringotts I would have my own representative to protect my legal rights."

"Harry my boy, I'm sorry you feel that way, but I am your magical guardian. I need to know where you live; therefore I must insist we talk."

"Insist all you want, but you're only my magical guardian due to my parent's will being blocked. I have nothing to say to you." Harry rose from his seat, intentionally ignoring the Headmaster, and breaking eye contact because he could feel his ring heating up.

"Penny, it was wonderful seeing you again," he said to his friend, noticing some collage documents in her handbag, before turning back to the Headmaster. "I will see you at the meeting. Here, keep your cursed letter and if you try following me I'll contact the Aurors and have you arrested for harassment," causing a sharp intake of breath from the onlookers.

"Harry, there is no need for that. I just wish to talk, besides I am your magical guardian, I am well within my rights for answers," he said sternly, as if talking down to a naughty child.

"Then talk to my account manager rather than wasting my time and ruining my day!" he said before taking another calming breath and cutting off the Headmaster.

"You know what the funny thing is? There is nothing you can do about it. After all, there is no place like home," causing the headmaster to frown, in confusion, before Harry said the activation phase to his portkey, "_Home Sweet Home,_" and felt the all familiar pull.

**The Midnight Gold**

Over the next couple of days in the run up to his meeting with the Hogwarts staff, he'd been extremely busy. He had visited a number of his investments, such as _'Terra-Green,' _that he had brought the previous year and he had found out about what processes they used in their cultivation of plants, which was carefully explained by the manager as he escorted Harry around the greenhouses.

First, if there was low residual magic in the area, one had to start with lower magical plant life. Over time, this would increase the residual magic of the area enough to support higher magical plant life. They would also introduce supporting magical wildlife, to help ensure balance and keep magical pests down. The manager explained to get the land to a point where it could start to be farmed took close to half a decade, and several decades before higher level magical ingredients could be produced to a respectable quality and volume.

He spoke with the manger for quite some time, about the current staff and their hiring standards, and found most of them were hired due to family connections. Rather than knowledge, and this knowledge was built up during their working experience within the company. This was reasonable, as long as the master growers and harvesters were knowledgeable and skilled, but he was tempted to try and include some of his own people, who had qualifications in the field. This would ensure the standard of skill stayed high, rather than people being recruited due to their parents happening to be on the staff. Also, it would be easier to monitor the business if he had an agent or two on the inside, to give feedback on any issues that could be hidden from his knowledge, until he was sure the workforce was honest and hard working.

He also noted that the process was in ineffective and inefficient. In short, it reminded him of a rural farm back in 17th century, where everything was watered by hand. This was not really surprising when he thought about magical sociality, so he was tempted to try to introduce some mundane concepts of mass production. Also, he wanted to ask Bloodmoon to see if it was possible to buy several fields around the cottage he owned.

He was already planning it out. The cottage could be converted into offices and storage rooms, if he ended up buying the land. Then, he could hire some recently graduated first-generation witches and wizards who happen to have a talent and passion for magical plant life and cultivation. These people could be found by discreetly asking Professor Sprout, and then get them to study mundane techniques and see if better results could be achieved. Sure it was a test; a very expensive and time consuming one, but if it worked a decade or so from now, it could give him a massive advantage over his rivals. If the experiment failed, he had at least tried, and the farm could then be converted to the currently practiced style, just like Terra-Green used.

If the situation ever arose where he brought another high quality farm, which was rare from what he been told, since they were so valuable due to the residual magic and their produce, meant owners were rather unwilling to sell them unless as a last resort. He was tempted to try converting it into a series of greenhouses and different environmental condition domes, a bit like the Eden project he'd seen on T.V. After all, exotic plants wielded higher profits due to their imported nature.

Rune schemes could be used to make the necessary weather conditions. For example fog wards used to hide islands or houses were just a mixture of water and heat after all, so why couldn't the concept be applied to growing magical plants. Sure the use of greenhouses wasn't new; Hogwarts was a key example of greenhouses being heated all year round so plant life could be grown, but from what he seen at his agriculture holdings the concept of micro climates could be new, or at least a well-kept secret.

Then he had visited one of Potter holdings, which has been giving him trouble with inaccurate reports, an Inn he owned called 'Pleasurable Nights,' in Shadowless Alley. He had immediately put down the law, his law, and fired the manager after he was rude. Also, he summoned the staff for a meeting. In short, it rapidly underwent new management. He didn't care personally if hookers did their trade in the place, if they didn't they would just do it on street. As long as they didn't create trouble, nor was it against the law. As long as the person wasn't a slave or bewitched, and it was of their own free will, the Ministry didn't care one way or enough... after all, Ministry officers often used such services...

Ultimately, he ended up promoting the bar mistress to run the place, on a trial basis, giving her free room and board all as perks of the job. If she did a good job, then it would be permanent with a bonus.

He also authorized the needed cash to redecorate the place, since the last manager made no effort, and the place was rather run down. He also had Bloodmoon authorize new wards, since it was clear from his limited understanding that wards were in the process of failing. In one year, two tops they would degrade completely. Also, he hired two additional bouncers to keep order, bringing their total up to six, two in the day, and four in evening.

Many would ask why, when two could do the job. The short version is a drunken wizard can do a lot of damage, and could easily destroy the place. Hence the additional muscle to simply overpower drunken magicals before they did too much damage, beyond what could be repaired by '_repairo'_ charms. Plus a show of force often prevented such things occurring in first place. Far better to play an additional eight thousand galleons a year, rather having to fork out twice that number in repairs bills even if the cost could be later reclaimed in courts. It just wasn't worth the time and possible lost profits if the building burnt down.

One of the new bouncers turned out to be a werewolf. He made it clear, that as long as he did his job and didn't cause trouble, he didn't care if he was. Plus it would help keep order, since the man was stronger and faster, and clearly intimidating. In short just what you needed for a bouncer.

At the end of the day, with all the work and the new hires, it would cost close to sixty thousand galleons. This was mostly because 'Pleasurable Nights' hadn't been maintained properly since his parent's deaths. At least the staff seemed to be happy with the knowledge of having an active proper owner who cared. And so did the other local business who considered the place to be an eye-sore in its run down state, which was affecting their own business, since it was attracting the wrong folks. So he won some good will from the neighbours.

He very much planned to make the place a respectful inn once again, with a proud and happy staff, leading to better profits, since the place had been making less than ten thousand galleons a year. If everything went well, hopefully it would be back to the annual figures prior to bad management. Either way, he asked Bloodmoon to keep eye on the place, to ensure it stayed golden after all the work was completed, and did not become brown from the incompetence of the staff again, anytime soon.

So now his financial base was secure, he could start to expand into the already cornered markets. Which of course would take time, since many were controlled by old families such as his own, but he had plenty of time after all, he was only just turning 12.

Now he had a birthday party to attend, something he was nervous about for several reasons. First and foremost, he had never been to one before, and also he simply didn't know anyone. He would be an outsider looking in once again. Now he was really regretting agreeing to this plan, because it also meant that he had to get gift for Susan, which proved to be a nightmare. What does one get second year girl?

**The party (Wednesday)**

Knocking on the front door, he had gone casual with jeans, he was greeted by an elf before being escorted out into the back garden, where the party was already under way. Looking over the unfolding party, he saw that it looked like most of first year Puffs were attending and a few others he didn't recognised. Probably second years or distant family members who been invited out of habit and tradition, rather than actually being friends.

Walking towards the crowd, waiting to be notice, this didn't take long due to him being an unfamiliar face. Thankfully he didn't have to introduce himself in most cases since most of the kids from Hogwarts recognised him easily enough. After all, he was considered a top student and shared about sixty percent of his classes with the Puffs, with a twenty/ twenty spilt with the other two houses.

Which did seem odd, but he dismissed it. It was better to work with Puffs rather than Griffs, because at least Puffs didn't plank in lessons, or cause trouble. They just sat their quietly listening respectfully to the professor.

Putting on a charming smile...

**Sometime later**

"Harry, are you enjoying the party?" Madam Bones probed.

"Indeed," he answered truthfully, surprised that he actually was.

"Arrangements have been made for the court case to be held two weeks from Thursday; Sirius is currently in a safe house. The case itself should be simple enough. All evidence shows that Sirius was set up," she explained with a sad smile.

"Will there be any problems, or anything I can do?" he asked seriously.

"No, I've taken care of it. Problems should only occur if the court is rigged, but that shouldn't happen. I'll be overseeing the cases that day."

"What do you mean?" he probed.

"Well as you know for rest of this month the Ministry is effectively on auto, and so is the Wizengamot due to the ministry elections. Candidates have been selected to take up three of the spots on the panel of adjudicators. I or my deputy will act in the place of the Chief Warlock, and another ministry official will act in place of the minister, making up a judging panel of five. The Chief Warlock will probably get three maybe four people into this group of candidates to be selected as judges, the same for the Pure-Blood Elitists under Malfoy. The rest of the possible candidates to act as judges will come from secondary houses, and factions, who will wish to gain some prestige by sitting on the panel, or secondary heirs to families wishing to build their own position. The only thing we have to worry about is if for some reason three of Malfoy's allies somehow get selected to the panel, but it's unlikely that this will happen. From there it's clear cut case," she explained, before taking a slice of cake from the table.

"Any questions?" she asked.

"Will the court be open to the public? I'd like to be there to see the process and I want to bring along a few friends," thinking of Tonks and her family, as well the press, since it would be front page news. He already had an image of Lucius drinking his morning tea and choking on it when he saw the headline.

"Of course, ministers past and present have liked to be seen doing things, nothing better than being seen handing out fair justice, so it's open to public," she explained.

"Do you know when and where it is being held?"

"Yes, 10am, court room 3," she stated, before having a bite of birthday cake. "It's good, have you tried some let?" she asked, gesturing towards the cake.

"No madam," Harry said before taking a slice of cake, enjoying the taste of strawberries.

"Well enjoy the party, and by the way, the headmaster is looking for you."

"I know."

"Well I suggest you keep a low profile for bit, or at least until Sirius is released, and takes up your guardianship."

**That evening**

Collapsing on his bed, thinking damn that was good party, he had to give the first year Puffs credit, and they knew how to make someone feel welcome, even if they were an outsider to the group. He really had to re-examine the concept of the Puffs, since he had fallen into the trap of seeing them as a house of losers, with some exceptions, but after spending time with them, he could see they had far most positive traits. They were just over shadowed by the rest of the houses. After all, you had his own house winning academic achievements most of time, while Slytherin and Gryffindor were in constant state of rivalry, bordering on state of war considering how vicious their pranks got, especially when you had individuals encouraging such competition.

This included the head of Slytherin himself, and characters such as Ron, Neville, the twins, and Malfoy. No wonder the Puffs were overlooked and disregarded, they simply were just trying to get along and not cause trouble. Not causing trouble just became the expected norm by the staff and students, and it wasn't rewarded as a whole. After all, why reward a house for behaving when they do it automatically without need for encouragement? When other houses needed encouragement, i.e., the carrot and stick approach.

This was disappointing really, but couldn't be changed easily without a whole top down process. Making his own mental note on the issue, to give Puffs more credit, he moved them up in his own mental house ranking system, to above Gryffindor for the time being, but under Slytherin.

He doubted he could ever be anything more than friends or associates or maybe allies with them, simply due to the differences in values and morals between them. Slipping into his codex, he began to rearrange the memories, updating his analysis of people and their values, and just doing the needed up keep for the day to ensure his mind stayed clear and sharp.

Things were looking up. Everything was going as he planned, no set backs of any sorts, but how long would that last? Feeling a renewed sense of energy, he decided to get some archery practise in since he wouldn't be falling to sleep for a while, and it was far better to do something productive.

Pushing himself off his bed and quickly changing into something more suitable for training, he headed out onto the range. The bow he was using was a rather simple short bow, nothing fancy, just a training tool. In time, as his skilled developed and his physical power grew he would be able to handle more powerful bows, but for the moment, he had to start at the bottom.

Drawing the bow string back, he looked down the line of sight onto the target no more than 75 feet ways, close by archery standards, but almost double the length of most wizard duels. Releasing the arrow, hearing the spring of the bowstring as the energy was unleashed, just to see the arrow impact maybe an inch above the bull-eyes zone. Repeating the process readjusting his aim, taking into account the wind speed, and other factors such as decreasing levels of light, he unleashed his second arrow, just to see it land in the gold zone, but not bull-eyes. Like most skills, to get that instinctual understanding, where one did not have to think, you could just act on impulse required time and training.

Slowly he slipped into a world of his own.

**Gringotts bank meeting room 5 (Friday)**

'It's funny really, how much time I've been spending at the bank, they should give me a discount,' Harry thought... but that wasn't likely to happen, unless the Goblins saw a means to achieve a bigger profit by doing so. Besides, it was only a temporary solution until he had his own meeting place, and was strong enough to physically protect himself against an adult wizard or two. Until then he would have to rely on the hired muscle of the goblin guards.

Oh well, there was nothing he could do until he got get a proxy he trusted to act on his behalf. Hopefully his soon to be free godfather would be capable of looking after his interests, and being his representative, since he found a lot of people just dismissed him due to his age.

It would be interesting seeing what was going to happen. He had no doubt the headmaster would turn up, even if it was just for a chance to question him again. Several minutes passed making Harry wonder if they were ever going to turn up. Looking to his side he could see Bloodmoon was getting increasingly annoyed at their lateness. Not that he could blame him, it was rudeness, and very much a power play unfolding. Of course, he expected an excuse or reason which they would be forced to accept, such as emergency ministry business, so there was nothing they could do but wait.

So they started discussing little things just to pass the time.

About twenty minutes later, they heard a knock on the door before it opened, revealing several Hogwarts staff members, Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape, but no Headmaster, which was surprising since the man had been trying to find him all summer.

"Sorry for our lateness, emergency business came up in the Ministry preventing the Headmaster from attending, which led to him sending me in his place, to handle the situation for him," Professor McGonagall explained, before taking a seat at the table followed by the other staff members.

"Professors, you have seen the evidence to support my case. I do not wish to cause trouble, but I find Severus Snape's behaviour towards me over the last year unacceptable, hence the reason we're gathered here today," Harry stated seriously.

"Indeed," stated the deputy headmistress, looking rather stern.

"Now I understand that my father, as well his friends, did bully Professor Snape with their pranking during their youth. But he is dead, and frankly it time to move on because it is childish. I've heard you multiple times comparing me to my father, but I have no memories of him, only know bits and pieces about him, from what others have told me. I don't even have a picture of the man. All I know is that I look like him, because everyone has said I look like my father, but he is dead. So this feud can either be ended today like civilized people, or I take this to the papers and the Ministry, and you will probably end up with a cell next to my traitorous godfather," he spat, keeping up the impression that he believed his godfather had betrayed his parents. "I've already got several allies who are more than willing to make the case of my half, so not even the Headmaster acting as my guardian and proxy will be able to drop the case," he said sternly and emotionlessly, making it clear that he had planned ahead.

Looking around seriously, seeing he still had their attention he continued, "Now, in this hand I have the terms I offered at the end of the last school year." Holding out an official scroll, "I'll list the terms in case you have forgotten. First, Severus Snape does not use any form of mind arts on me again, unless I willingly grant permission. Second, I don't have to attend any classes led by the professor and that I will self-study the material instead. Finally, any points reductions or detentions have to be approved by either my head of house," gesturing to the charms master, "Or by one of the other heads of house," waving his hand towards the two women. "Then, for the next six years we can try to ignore each other," Harry said seriously while looking at Snape, picking up no emotions with his empathy.

"Or," he said, dragging out the word as he revealed another scroll, imagining this was the feeling the Roman ambassador had when addressing Carthage's rulers at the outbreak of the Second Punic War, when demanding the arrest of Hannibal, before saying "War." This got a look of surprise from the two women at his words, along a classic sneer from the potions master. "This is a lawsuit from the House of Potter, against one SeverusSnape on the charges of illegal use of mind arts on a minor, let alone on the heir to an Ancient and Noble Household. Verbal abuse and abuse of power and position, and finally slander against the Potter name," he ended, with a cold glare at the potions master. "Your choice, peace and settlement," holding out the document, "Or war in the courts, where we both know the odds are in my favour, even if you have the Chief Warlock and Lucius Malfoy in your corner."

"So it's your choice," holding out a scroll in each hand, looking at the staff waiting for them to get their wits together, since he had thrown them with his little bit of drama. Bloodmoon himself looked on emotionlessly, but one could see hint of amusement in his eyes at his antics.

"How do I know you aren't bluffing you arrogant brat," the potion master demanded, finally speaking for first time while rest of the staff seemed to just look at man, wondering what in hell he was doing.

"You don't, but do you think I would waste my time here and my account managers if I wasn't serious? Or pay for this meeting room, as well as two dozen goblin guards, if I wasn't serious? I could easily ruin you." This got him a sneer at his statement, which he ignored, privately hoping the man would do as Rita did and pull his wand on him so the goblins could have him.

"Severus Snape, we're here to prevent Hogwarts reputation from being ruined by your actions. The headmaster gave us instructions to sign the agreement if terms are reasonable, and they are! Mr Potter is right, it's time to end this nonsense," Professor Sprout stated.

"Indeed, I haven't given my whole adult life to teaching at Hogwarts just so you can ruin the school's prestige due to your ego. And may I reminded you Severus, you often provoked arguments and fights just as much has James and Sirius did," the deputy headmistress added, giving the man her best disappointed look.

"Let me remind you Severus that this will get political very fast. Soon the school board will start calling for your resignation again. And I doubt even Lord Malfoy will be able to prevent that. Especially considering that you have often insulted the board's own children, and they have already been calling for your replacement for years, and now they have a pretext," said his head of house, adding his part to Severus's unofficial council.

"Fine," he spat, cursing under his breath as he skimmed over the document, not even brothering to read it properly before signing at the bottom and throwing the blood quill on the table towards Professor McGonagall. Then the rest of the staff signed the witness boxes and then Harry himself, causing the document to flash along with Professor Snape and himself. The document itself then divided into two magical copies.

"That was magically blinding document," Professor Snape stated, his eyes lighting up angrily in realization.

"Indeed, you should have read the document more closely. It clearly stated in the third line down that it was a magically binding agreement, but you didn't read it. I personally expected you to notice that and negotiate the terms of the agreement, as well get just a standard magical document rather than a magically binding one, but you didn't. Next time I suggest you actually read the document," he explained while stressing the word read.

"Otherwise, you may very well be signing way all your rights." Harry stated, making his disappointment known to room that he expected better from a man who was meant to be the head of Slytherin house, before he turned to deputy headmistress, who seem a bit flushed.

"The document itself Headmistress has no magical consequences for you personally, however as the overseer of the document you are required to handle any issues that occur, or disagreements not stated in the document. You will know when Professor Snape breaches the terms," he explained.

"What about you? Are there are no consequences for you?" Snape asked in a near whisper, looking up from document deathly pale.

"Like I said, you should have negotiated the document. As long as I don't go to press with this incident; the agreement is valid. However, let me point out that even if for whatever reason the terms are broken on my part, you still can't use any form of mind arts on me, or any individuals under my protection unless with my permission, or theirs. That can mean my friends, allies, or family such as my kids and this agreement is valid for life unless I state otherwise, and release you from this magical agreement," Harry said, while looking over the shocked staff as they reviewed the document they had all blindly signed.

"Now, if you excuse me, I'll leave you to look over the document," he stated, leaving the room with his account manager. As soon as the doors shut his face broke out into a grin. The meeting had gone far better than he had imagined, before turning to his account manager, who seem to be grinning evilly at the stunt Harry had just pulled. He was more than willing to admit, he felt kind of sorry for the deputy headmistress and the potion master, since the document had been written by his account manager and was iron-clad, no loopholes, no escape clauses. It had been ruthless, just as goblins themselves were when dealing with business and enemies.

"Thank you for your assistance with this. Even if you weren't needed to renegotiate the contract, it was good to have the show of support of how serious I was," he expressed, happy with how the meeting had gone, and how Snape had effectively been neutralized for the next six years.

"You're most welcome Lord Potter. It may not have been the most profitable meeting, however it was most amusing. One would expect better from wizard and witches of their standing," Bloodmoon said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Indeed, I am sure the next time they ever have to sign anything, they will at least read it." An idea suddenly occurred, deciding he needed to go in a hurry if he wanted to gain some additional information, using his ace in the hole that he had carried into the meeting.

"Do you require anything else from me today?" Bloodmoon probed.

"No thank you, all my business is concluded for today," Harry replied, before saying the traditional Goblin goodbye and leaving the bank quickly as possible. As soon as he was outside he headed across the street to a small restaurant, which was half empty and slipped into the men's toilets.

Quickly checking the washroom over to find it was empty and casting a locking charm at the door, before saying to no one but himself, "You may come out now."

This resulted in a green beetle emerging from the folds of his robes before it started shifting shape, revealing Rita. She quickly looked around the empty washroom herself before saying, "Is this a hint my lord, of my next task I can do for you," as she walked around him, her heels clicking on the floor sharply as one her hands ran over his shoulders, stroking them.

"You can if you wish, my dear. But I have a better use of your talents rather than wasting you on your knees," he said sternly, ignoring Rita's playfulness and her suggestion. He was getting a bit annoyed with her continuous flirting; it was like she forgot that he was only just becoming 12 years old. Not that he minded most of time, since he considered it rather good practise, but times like this when he wanted something done he found it most annoying.

"Did you hear the whole meeting?" he asked his newest asset.

"Indeed my Lord, I have to say I'm most impressed by your cunning and how you got around that agreement by having me hidden within your robes," the blonde stated before sitting on the edge of the sink, causing her knee length skirt to hike up, revealing a good part of her leg. "I too, am a bit disappointed that the head of Slytherin house didn't even bother to read the contract, its quiet sad how far my former house has fallen, if he is their role model."

"Good, we will talk more about it more later," he stated, not wanting to get bogged down in a chit chat about Snape's failings. "I want you to hang back outside Gringotts, and try to slip onto one of the staff members robes. Preferably the Head Mistress or Snape, and follow them back to Hogwarts, because as soon as the staff has collected themselves they are going to go straight to the Headmaster and report about the meeting," he said, looking over seeing Rita nod, following where he was going.

"I want you to spy on that meeting and try to find out what came up, which prevented the Headmaster from attending. Because frankly, it must be important otherwise he would have been here today. He's been trying to get hold of me all summer, and I would never have managed to slip that document past them, if the headmaster had been there overseeing the whole thing."

"Anything else?" she asked, looking at him hungrily.

"No, but if in doubt stay with Snape, he's under the Headmaster's protection for a reason and is his unofficial assistant. I want to know why that is." he explained to Rita, who nodded in understanding at the instruction.

"Whatever you do, don't get caught, and remember the Headmaster's office is filled with portraits. Also his familiar could be there, and the phoenix will see you for what you are, no matter how well you act the part of a bug," he said stressing the word will. "So as soon as that bird turns up, you get out of there immediately," he stated seriously, seeing Rita face had taken on a serious expression.

"Where will you be then? Are you going to wait around here for me to return?" Rita questioned, pushing herself off the sink, flatting her skirt and hiking her hand bag back over her shoulder.

"No, I'll go shopping for next hour or so. Then I'll return to your apartment to wait for your return," he stated, seeing Rita nod in understanding. She had accepted the knowledge that he could come and go as he pleased from her residence, since the wards had been changed to allow him access whenever he wanted.

"Ok, let's go" he said, moving towards the door.

"My Lord, do me favour and open the doors for me, it makes it much easier," she asked, before shifting into a beetle and taking to the air.

Leaving the bathroom, noticing Rita had hitched a ride on his shoulder, he moved faster as he headed towards the bank, before she took off into the air once again and started to circle around, waiting for her intended targets.

**The Midnight Gold**

**Rita's residence**

Harry made himself at home and very comfortable before picking up one of the articles Rita had been working on for the next edition of Witch Weekly. It was about a wizard called Gilderoy Lockhart and his adventures across the world, and how rumours within the Ministry suggested he was going to get the Order of Merlin. The article also mentioned that the man was going to be new DADA professor for the upcoming school year, which interested him greatly. After all, the guy would be one of his teachers for next year.

He wondered why such a rising star would want to teach DADA at Hogwarts, because it seemed foolish that the man would challenge the so called 'curse'. Wouldn't the man have better things to do than teach, like another adventure or something? Thinking it over, it could possibly be something to add to the list of things he had done. A bit like adding Hogwarts name to his C.V, just to say he had done it, to add to his growing reputation. He hoped the man would be more capable that Professor Quirrell, if half the things said about him was true.

Not that it mattered, he had all but finished second year DADA spells, to the point he could cast them perfectly and silently. Either way he was well into third years spells, his stunner was all but silent now and he was getting quicker at casting it. Just goes to show how much of an advantage mind arts were when it came to learning. Being able to recall each experience perfectly, allowing you to just remember that moment, that feeling of casting the spell was a great advantage. Also the fact that he had learnt one of the main factors behind ones magic, one's will and discipline of the mind early on, worked in his favour. It was why silent casting was easy for him to learn and Tonks found it difficult. It was psychological, she had five years of school where she had learnt to cast spells aloud before moving on to silent casting, while he had been using both all along. First using the incantations, to the point where he could feel it and recall it by memory, rather than just shouting it.

Then again, he was hardly a normal first year. His relatives saw to that, and had shaped him into being more mature and colder than most of his peers.

Getting up and heading over into the kitchen where he made a coffee, and sandwich, before casting several household charms around the kitchen causing the dishes to start washing themselves, then being dried by a tea cloth, and finally floating into the nearby cupboards just like he did at his own house. Originally, he would of only been able to cast one spell at time, however due to practise he had got to point he could do three. He just had to visualize it within his mind.

The animation charms were the hardest he had encountered so far, because it required focus and being able to visualize multiple actions and movements, such as a tea towel wiping a plate and then depositing it on the shelf. Maybe the reasons why these three spell were so easy was he had done the same motions at his relatives since he was old enough to wash up.

All too soon the kitchen was tidy, just the way he liked it.

Setting himself down to wait, he hoped that it hadn't been foolish sending Rita into the lion's den per say, on the spur of the moment. But then again it had been a calculated risk, who would think a bug was an animagus? He had only found out her secret by chance. Then again, Hogwarts was meant to be one of the safest places in Britain, but that could be debated since the castle wasn't in siege lock down, just basic day to day running wards. Even then, buildings designed to combat sieges weren't designed to counter one lone infiltrator with a rare skill.

Sighing, he just hoped that Rita was ok, after all the women may be annoying, but she was in his services and he had responsibility to be concerned over her welfare. He decided that he would have to scout out Hogwarts a bit more and find out what defences it had, just incased he decided to send Rita into the castle again.

...

Eventually there was a chime sound, announcing an incoming floo traveller. Looking over at the fireplace, which had changed to magical green flames, Rita stepped out of the magical fire with a smirk on her features, a bit like a cat that had caught a bird.

Harry allowed himself a mental sigh of relief before asking evenly, "How did it go?"

"Most well my Lord, you were right," she stated, moving to the kitchen. "You tidied up?"

"Yes, I don't like messy kitchens, plus it helped kill some time," he explained. "What did you find out?"

"One of the headmaster's spies reported to him today that Lord Malfoy plans to use an artefact given to him by his old master, You-Know-Who, to reopen the Chamber of Secrets hidden beneath Hogwarts. The artefact will unleash a beast which will hunt down any muggleborns," she explained, before sitting down opposite Harry.

"During this, Lucius will question the Headmaster's leadership and ability to protect the school, pointing out the events of the last school year. Eventually the death toll will rise enough that the board of governors will have to step in, forcing the headmaster to step down. Lucius will then step in and recover the artefact he planted, saving the day and hence be seen as the hero," she ended with a wicked smirk at the story she just got.

"How did you find this out?" he questioned, already trying to think of ways to fuck up Lucius plans. After all, nothing good would come from Voldemort's second in command being the headmaster of Hogwarts, and frankly Draco would become even bigger bigot if his father was in charge as well.

"I overheard him talking to Professor Snape about it, and tasking the professor to uncover any additional information, under the pretext of protecting his godson," Rita stated.

"Interesting," he responded, his head filling with different scenarios of ways to use this information to cripple the Malfoy family, as well as to stop the attacks quickly, before anyone could be killed. After all, he had several friends who were first generation magicals.

Rita snapped his attention back to her by saying, "My lord, there is more."

"Do tell," he probed, wanting to hear more.

"The meeting that prevented the Headmaster from attending was called by Ludo Bagman, head of the Department for Magical Games and Sports. He wanted to discuss England's bid to win the rights to host the upcoming Quidditch World Cup for the summer just after your third year, since he needs the Chief Warlocks help to win support. From what I heard, the meeting should be taking place a week before you return to school to discuss the arrangements for the bid. However, there is more. Bagman put forth an idea to bring back the Tri-Wizard Tournament for your fourth year, just after the World Cup. This was supported by Barty Crouch senior," Rita said, which resulted in Harry releasing a snarl at the man's name.

"Something wrong?"

"Barty Crouch Snr. was the one who put my godfather away without a trial," he stated angrily, seeing Rita nod in understanding.

"Well, both of them are pushing for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but they need the Headmaster's approval since Hogwarts will host events."

"What is this tournament exactly, and why does the Headmaster need to approve of it?" wondering what so important about it, since he hadn't read of it.

"Well, the Tri-Wizard Tournament is a competition hosted between the three leading magical schools of Europe, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Students will be selected from each school to compete in three tasks, for the pride of their school. Also, several other events traditionally go on as well, like duelling, Quidditch, brewing tournaments, etc. The tournament is almost as big as the world cup."

"Now that's interesting. Any ideas why they want to bring it back? I assume the tournament was cancelled for some reason, otherwise they wouldn't be asking the Headmaster and I would have heard of it before today," he expressed, watching Rita take on an expression he had long came to associate with gossip rather than facts.

"Well," she said dragging out the word, adding suspense, "Both department heads were rising stars before the war, and fell out of favour in the aftermath. They were transferred to lesser departments, where they have stayed in the shadows. Ludo Bagman was rumoured to be a Death Eater or at least a supporter, but was never proven and he was cleared. While Barty Crouch Senior lost favour due to the fact his son turned out to be a Death Eater. He was Head of the Department of Law Enforcement at the time, and next in line to be minister. As you can guess that didn't go down well. My personal guess is both of them want to step out of the shadows and have some line-light for a change, since their names have all but been forgotten in political circles. It wouldn't surprise me if this is a bid to get back into higher office, if they can pull both events off successfully. Also, the fact that Bagman is rumoured to have increasing debts and by being an organizer of both events, he can rake in the needed gold to pay off his debtors, through the bribes he will receive from families wanting to win contracts. Whereas Barty Crouch has no remaining family, his line is good as dead unless he has another son, and is quick about it. He probably sees this as his chance to restart a historical event and get his name into the history books. So even if his line dies, at least the family name will live on in the history of the tournament."

"Most impressive, I didn't know you knew that all off the top of your head," he praised, once again confirming he had made the right decision with Rita's forced recruitment.

"Thank you, you know I like my gossip," she smirked playfully.

"Indeed, I would like you to research the Tri-Wizard Tournament and produce a report on it for my inspection by Christmas. Also, I want you keep your ear to floor to see if you can find out if it is going ahead or not. If it's cancelled don't bother with the report. I also want a report on the World Cup and its organizers. However, I want you investigate into Chamber of Secrets when you're not working, because that is the immediate concern," he stated seriously, making it clear that it was an order, not a request like the other tasks.

"Yes my lord," Rita responded.

"Good, by the way make sure your free tomorrow, we're going shopping because your efforts should be rewarded," he stated, seeing Rita looking rather pleased. He added, "We also have to get a new image for you, at the moment it is suitable for a common gossip journalist," he said with disapproval. "But frankly it isn't serious enough for the new you and isn't good enough for my family reporter. I want you be taken seriously and first step in that is changing your look."

"My lord is that really necessary?" she said in a concerned manner.

"Yes, it is," he stated sternly, because he wanted to rebuild Skeeter's reputation up by reporting facts, rather than gossip. Nothing said a new start better than a new image, and frankly he hated that green outfit. Plus, how could she be a spy for him if she stood out from a mile away.

**End of Chapter**

Author Note: I studied roman history, and classics, so I wanted to pay tribute to that famous scene what started the second war, between Cathrage and Rome.


	22. Y2 The Dog Runs Free

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure Let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note: **A special thank you to **BuckeyeForLife** for all the hard work he puts in to help make my chapters a success. As well the advice he gives, ensuring I don't miss bits and pieces as my story develops.

And thank you all, for your reviews.

**The Midnight Gold - ****Chapter 22:**** The Dog Runs Free**

**Revised by BuckeyeForLife**

**Posted 1****st**** of Nov 2012**

"Tonks, it's time, but first I need to talk to the rest of your family as well," Harry stated in a no-nonsense tone, deciding that since Sirius's court hearing was just over three days away, they would need time to emotionally prepare themselves.

"So you're finally going to tell me what the big deal is, and what you been up to over the last couple of weeks," she said excitedly, since she been pestering him about it daily.

"Yes, but your mum and dad should hear this news as well."

"Ok boss," she stated with bit of grin, before finishing with a half salute and heading to pack up her things. About a half an hour later they were at Tonks' house, by first taking Harry's portkey to Diagon Alley and then using one of the public floos to get to the Tonks home.

The house was very homely, with pictures of the family on the fireplace, including several of a young Tonks. In many ways, it was what he considered to be a perfect home, one which he could easily imagine himself growing up in. "How cute," he said, while innocently examining a picture of baby Tonks, who was waving at him. By god he loved magical pictures and how they could really capture the moment.

"Give me that," she demanded before snatching it out of his hand, muttering something about not believing her mum had put it back up there.

"When will your parents be home?" Harry asked.

"A couple hours yet."

"Ah, so we wait," he stated.

"Can't you tell me now?

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please with a cherry on top?"

Letting out a tired sigh, mentally groaning 'it's going to be a long wait,' as Tonks continued to pester him.

**Sometime later**

"It's pleasure to meet both of you at last," Harry greeted, shaking Ted's hand, getting the impression he was the laid back one in the pair, whilst Tonks' mother Andromeda seemed to be the sterner of the pair, which was clearly from her upbringing as a daughter of the Black family.

"Indeed, it's pleasure to see you again. I haven't seen you since you were a baby, we were distant friends of your parents," Ted, explained.

"I know, and I also know you are distant family, making Tonks here my cousin," he said calmly, catching them by surprise, particularly Tonks whom he had never mentioned it to.

"Cousin? Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded angrily.

"Nymphadora, manners!" her mother exclaimed.

"Its fine," Harry interrupted, putting a stop to whatever argument was about to start. "First, I've only found out recently and second it wasn't really important at the time and I had other more pressing concerns to worry about. That's why I am here, so can we sit down since those concerns will directly affect you because they involve the Black family," which caused all three of them to snap their attention to him.

"Of course," Andromeda said, taking control of the situation and saying, "This way," before leading them into dining room so they could talk it over.

"So what is it you wish to discuss about my former family?" she asked somewhat bitterly.

"Well, let me start at the beginning," he requested. "It will be easier to understand."

"Of course."

"Now, about a year ago, I found out about the magical world, since I had been living with my non-magical relatives, who had kept such knowledge from me. The goblins informed me of my heritage and status, as well as the safeguards my family put in place to help me in case of their deaths," he explained somewhat coldly, stating only the necessary facts.

"One such safeguard was a vault prepared with books, journals and other things of importance. In short, it was a vault containing my heritage and other valuables that only I could access to prevent anyone else from getting a hold of these items. After all, I wouldn't have been the first orphan to be stolen from during a war, if for whatever reason I got a ministry selected guardian. However, as the case turned out my parents will was never read; it was just sealed at the time due to Sirius Black being my magical guardian and was believed to be responsible for my parent's deaths. So the Headmaster placed me with my mother's sister, since I would be out of way and hence safe from harm."

"You said believed," Andromeda stated, catching his choice of words and interrupting his tale.

"Indeed, your cousin Sirius never actually had a court hearing. He was just thrown in jail without a trial," he said, only looking at Tonks mother, before continuing his explanation.

"One of the items left in the vault was my mother's journals, in which she recorded almost everything from her childhood up to the night before her death. This journal states that Sirius was not the secret keeper, but a decoy with the purpose of drawing attention away from Peter, who had agreed to be their secret keeper instead. And the journal states rather clearly that they encouraged the idea of Sirius being their secret keeper, in order to mislead whatever spy was in the Order of the Phoenix," he explained.

Harry watched their faces as they went through a series of emotions, from anger to happiness, confusion, to relief and what not.

"So Sirius could be innocent," Tonks said.

"He is," he stated with certainty. "Over the last couple weeks I have been working with Madam Bones to arrange a court hearing. Sirius is currently in a safe house, but from Madam Bones own questioning of Sirius, all evidence proves the man was set up and Peter was Lord Voldemort's spy within the Order'" Harry explained.

"I knew Sirius was innocent, I never believed it when they told me," Andromeda stated, while her husband rested a hand on her shoulder, comforting her.

"We have to tell everyone," Ted said, getting up to go over to the fireplace.

"I wouldn't if I were you. If you tell anyone, you risk Sirius being killed before he ever has a public court hearing," he stated plainly before offering an explanation. "Because several people have profited during Sirius's imprisonment, they risk losing everything if he is freed."

"What do you mean?" Tonks asked.

"Simple, first of all who is currently holding the Black seat in the Wizengamot?" he asked. Not waiting for answer he continued, "Lord Malfoy, and through your mother's sister, Bellatrix, he also holds the Lestrange vote by default because of her Black blood, which he loses if Sirius is released. He also loses access to these vaults and his son will lose his status as default heir to Black family. All Lord Malfoy's recent success is in no small part due to his marriage into the Black family and with Sirius freed he loses a lot of power and influence," Harry explained while looking at his cousin, who seemed to be catching on.

"He would have Sirius killed, wouldn't he," Andromeda stated plainly.

"Indeed, or have the case rigged as much as possible. If Sirius is freed he stands to lose so much, and I'm sure Lord Malfoy has broken at least one clause in his marriage agreement. When Sirius is released, the Malfoy family will go from being the top dogs to a third rate power in matter of days, leaving them open to attack from all sides. Hence the reason the court case has been kept secret, which only I, Madam Bones, and the aurors guarding Sirius know of, until now," he said looking the around the table.

"This is but the tip of the iceberg. With Sirius freed he will be my proxy, which will put him in control of my votes, as well as the Blacks and Lestranges, and he will effectively hold the single most votes within the Wizengamot and control the balance of power. You will probably be reinstated into the Black family which in short will become one of the big powerhouses in Britain, and hence you will be affected," Harry said before going into explanation of what was going to happen over the next half hour, listing everyone's motives that he could think of. He answered Tonks' and Ted's questions, while Andromeda seems to just nod, understanding what would happen since she was raised around politics.

"Finally, the reason why the Headmaster can't be trusted is because first he loses my votes and second Sirius will be in position to gather the houses that may be disillusioned with Headmaster or who only allied with him to stop individuals such as Lucius, and same again goes for Lucius own supporters." Seeing them nod he continued, "Also someone has been leaching funds off the Potter vaults, and with Sirius being freed he can authorize a full investigation," he said to the shocked table, before he added an even bigger bomb shell.

"The key suspect is the Chief Warlock," he stated bluntly, seeing no reason to sugar coat it.

"I need a drink," Ted said, getting up from table moving to whiskey cabinet.

"I think we all do" Andromeda said, getting up to get some glasses. Tonks just sat there stunned at what she had just heard, since she like most of Britain believed the Headmaster was incorruptible.

**The Midnight Gold**

**Court Room 3 –**** Thursday 09:45 a.m.**

Soon it would begin. Soon all his efforts would pay off and his godfather would be freed. On his left hand side sat Tonks and her family in their best dress robes, which was funny since Tonks had managed to get way with wearing a pair of black jeans. This was even after her mother had demanded that she change them, and laid out another outfit which she deemed more suitable.

He himself was wearing a pair of black dragon hide boots, the same pair which had previously been stolen by Tonks. Also, black jeans with a black silk shirt, his Potter house ring on his hand, and a silver chain hanging around his neck with the Peverell ring on it.

His hair was laid back, since he was already starting to grow it out because it was traditional for Lords and heads of house. It publicly stated ones position and rank, plus it made his hair less messy and appear to be more intentional, which Tonks approved of, claiming it was 'stylish.'

All it was finished off with a black outer robe, which bore the Potter crest and other complex decorative runes patterns. These served no real purpose at all, just added a twist to the robe.

In short, he made himself the image of the model heir, because frankly his picture was going to be all across the papers. Also, first impressions counted and he wanted to make a good one.

Taking off his glasses and cleaning them before slipping them back on, soon he wouldn't need them based on the med-witch report, since his eyes were regenerating rapidly now with healthy living. So in a year or two's time he would have prefect eyesight. He planned to keep wearing glasses anyways, but change them to just standard lenses, since everyone would assume he had a weakness if he wore them, not knowing that he would be fine without them. After all, in several of his duels with Tonks, she had summoned his glasses giving her an advantage and winning the fight.

Plus they made him look more knowledgeable, which fit with the image he was working on creating.

Also, he was currently having a pair of new glasses crafted by a specialist with several charms on them, such as being able to see body heat, which would allow him to see past disillusionment charms, which would be useful. A night vision charm would also be added allowing him to see clearly in darkness, as long as it wasn't magically made. It was costly, but he could afford it, so why not.

Looking over to the door, he saw Rita arriving in the outfit he had chosen for her. She was wearing a knee length skirt, a form fitting white blouse with black jacket over the top and completed with a pair of nice stylish black heels. Her horn rimmed glasses were gone, replaced with an artistic black pair similar to his, but more feminine in design. He eventually planned to try to have them charmed so he could see through her pair, effectively allowing him to see what his own spy could see.

After all those glasses could be left in an office by accident after she left and he would be able to watch the whole meeting as if he was there in person. How many oaths could he get around like that? The simple fact was that knowledge was power, if one knew how to use it effectively.

"Is that Rita Seeker?" Andromeda asked her husband.

"I believe so dear. Frankly what she's wearing is an improvement, far better than that hideous green outfit she usually wears. Now I might actually take her seriously as a reporter," Ted stated, examining her with approval.

"Ted dear, you better not be looking where I think you're looking," Andromeda stated dangerously, with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.

"Of course not dear," he said a bit too quickly, before looking at his wife. This caused Harry to chuckle at Teds actions, even as Tonks looked on, between shock and amusement that her father was openly checking out Rita's ass.

"I wonder how she found out about this?" Ted questioned as Rita moved to the reporter's box, where she was the only reporter present, since traditionally all big cases didn't start until after mid-day.

"Maybe Lady Bones invited her," Andromeda offered.

"I invited her," Harry said, looking over the court room to find it was less than a tenth full. "I got agreeable terms," not mentioning she now worked for him. "Ms. Seeker and I already have an article drafted and ready with all the facts and information," he explained.

"I felt it would be good to control the press, since she is the only reporter here we will get a front page story that tells the story the way we want it to be told. We also worked on several other stories for tomorrow's edition; I've planned this out to a T," he ended with conviction, as they seemed to examine him once again.

"A lot of thought went into this," Andromeda said approvingly, before adding, "It almost feels Slytherin."

"Indeed madam, the Sorting Hat said that I would do well in Slytherin. Plus I have several friends in Slytherin," Harry said, letting out a little secret about himself to his relatives. "There is only one newspaper in Britain that matters; the Prophet. I want our agent telling the story, not some half wit on the payroll of ministry trying to spin it in his employers favour. By controlling this first article we set the tone for rest of them."

"You never mentioned you could have been sorted into Slytherin," Tonks probed.

"It wasn't important, because we all have traits of other houses, cunning and ambition just happens to be couple of my stronger ones. After all, think how many Slytherins should actually be Puffs, due to how loyal they are to their families," he said to his cousin, who nodded at the idea.

"Also think about this, the Sorting Hat also takes into account personal desires and negative traits. Its' whole purpose is to sort you into the house you are most comfortable with and where you can be successful. So if you believe that Slytherin is the best, you will be sorted into that house even if in truth you prefer to read, learn, and have all the traits of a scholar. This is why it's common for children to follow their parents, since they were brought up with the values of their parents and have the impression of that house being superior to others. If I had been brought up with my parents then I would be lion for sure, because those values would have been instilled in me from birth and I would be under the illusion of that house being superior to others. Ultimately, the Sorting Hat matches you to people who have similar ideas and concepts as you, and this changes each year as the Hat adapts to pair similar minded people together," he explained to the group.

"How do you know this then?" Ted said, butting in on Tonks who looked ready to ask the same question.

"My mother's journal in part, because she looked into it trying to find out how a hard working, studious student like herself got sorted into Gryffindor when she thought of herself more as Ravenclaw material. I also asked my head of house Professor Flitwick about it, and he himself had discussed it with the Headmaster who had such theories, but they're only theories," Harry ended.

"It makes sense," Ted stated.

"Well I'll ask you this, if I said to you which house do you think is the best, what would you say?" he probed, none of them answered. "See what I mean," he said before seeing the rear doors open and Madam Bones walk in with two other gentlemen on either side, flanking her like bodyguards.

After giving an official statement of why they were here, Madam Bones announced, "Trial case number 146, of the 426th year since the creation of the Ministry of Magic. Sirius Orion Black on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and betrayal of the Potter family, due to being their secret keeper, and betraying their location to death eaters. As well, as the murder of 12 muggles and the wizard Peter Pettigrew," causing the sleepy court room to start whispering in excitement at the news. The two other judges tried to start talking to Madam Bones, who seemed to be ignoring them.

Then, the double doors opened again and his godfather was brought through. Even from his vantage point in the stands, he could easily see that the last decade had been hard on the man, based on his lack of weight and the heavy bags under his eyes. But there was a spark in his eyes, which made it clear the last two weeks of rather healthy living had made some impact on the man.

The trial lasted less than an hour in total, even with several members of court suggesting to delay it until the entire Wizengamot could be gathered. However the idea went nowhere, due to Madam Bones's ruthless pursuit of the truth. Also, several other minor political figures saw it as their chance to gain some status and respect, rather than sending it up the political chain. Like any politician, they were looking out for themselves.

There were only a couple times that he had to get involved with the case; publicly stating how the dairy was found and confirming his own investigation, prior to taking it to the head of Law Enforcement.

He then launched into a passionate speech he had practised beforehand, stating as an orphan his desire for justice and the knowledge of whether or not his godfather was truly innocent, or was a betrayer of the worst sort for betraying his friends, and the family who had taken him in during his own time of hardship. At the end of the speech he was sure some of the audience were shedding tears, because of his performance and the passionate speech of orphan seeking justice for his parents.

Frankly, if he and Rita hadn't already decided the title of the article, he was sure it would be entitled '_Orphan Seeks Righteous Justice for Parents,_' or something or the sort.

"The court has reached a decision," Madam Bones announced, causing the silent whispering to end and court room to go silent. "Please stand Mr. Black."

Watching his godfather rise from the chair, his hands still shackled and chained, he couldn't help but feel nervous. Even with the logical part of his mind reminding him of all arguments and evidence supporting Sirius's right to freedom.

"After looking at all the evidence, new and old, as well as your testimony under Veritaserum, we have concluded that Sirius Orion Black is innocent of betraying the Potters, as well the murder of 12 muggles. Hence he is cleared of all charges, and is officially declared innocent, and will receive ten thousand galleons for each year he was wrongfully imprisoned," Madam Bones explained, causing him to let out a sigh of relief. This decision caused the court room whispering to begin a new, before Madam Bones' 'cough' getting everyone's attention again so she could finish her summary.

"This case has also shown errors within the justice system, so an investigation needs to be undertaken into how an innocent man and respected member of society had to endure over a decade of wrongful imprisonment based on a word of a single man. And how the right to a trial was ignored, by the previous Head of Magic Law Enforcement, my predecessor," she said sternly, causing a wave of whispers to break out at the unfolding drama in the court room. "Also with the new evidence, Peter Pettigrew is now wanted for questioning, twenty thousand galleon reward is offered for anyone able to provide information on the man's location, or for his capture."

"Aurors, please escort Mr. Black to the back room, so he can meet his family in private," she instructed to the two guards before saying, "Court dismissed," and rose from her seat.

"Come on, let's go already," Tonks said, pulling Harry up from his seat and almost dragging him to the backdoor, whilst her parents followed swiftly behind them.

The guards at door instantly recognised him and parted ways allowing him entry, moments later he was engulfed in a hug from Sirius, making him recoil in surprise.

"Harry, my god I can't believe how much you look like your father, but you have your mother's eyes. I'm so sorry for missing the last decade of your life," Sirius said with an almost pleading expression.

Choosing his words carefully, he said, "Padfoot," using the man's nickname, "There is nothing to apologize for, all that matters now is what happens next. Now let me introduce you to this beautiful lady, Nymphadora aka Tonks. And I'm sure you remember Ted, and your cousin Andromeda," he said, introducing everyone, not particularly liking being at the centre of attention.

"Nymphadora, wow you've grown a lot, still the tom boy I see," Sirius said giving her a quick hug.

"This is your first and last warning, call me Nymphadora again and I'll hex you into next week. It's Tonks," she said sternly, before smiling warmly with a face Harry was all too familiar with. "You know I'm still waiting for that birthday present," catching Sirius off guard.

"Sirius," Andromeda said formally in greeting, interrupting Tonks make shift prank.

"Don't give me that Andy, give me a hug," Sirius said, giving the stern women a hug. "And it' nice to see you again Ted," he said with a smirk.

"It's good to finally know the truth," Ted said, shaking the man's hand.

Several minutes passed as they played catch up, before Harry spoke up, "As much as I love this chit chat, we need to head to the bank. Catching up can wait until all the immediate issues are addressed. You may not know this, but Lucius Malfoy is responsible for managing the Black accounts and is acting as default proxy. I doubt you want that Death Eater or his son being the next Lord Black if you don't take up the title yourself or state your own heir."

"Damn it, you're telling me I spent last decade in jail and that murderous son of bitch is walking free?" Sirius demanded. "I thought he'd fled the country or went to ground after the war ended, since he wasn't in that cursed place. Now you're telling me, he spent the last decade walking free? Whilst I was left rotting away in a cell?"

"Indeed Sirius, he claimed he was under the '_Imperious_' curse. He also happened to make some sizeable donations at the same time," Andromeda explained. "Only about a dozen Death Eaters were imprisoned, most walked free by buying their way out," she said disapprovingly.

**Gringotts Bank**

"It's good to see you again Mr Black. I've been expecting you thanks to Mr. Potter informing me of the necessary facts prior to your trial," the aged goblin said, nodding to him.

"He did?" almost everyone asked, looking at him.

"Indeed."

"Account Manager Dawnberg, shouldn't we be getting along with business since we have much to cover and limited time before the press gathers outside, and I doubt you want reporters swarming the bank," Harry reminded politely,

"Of course you are correct, I have the papers ready," Dawnberg said, slowly getting the documents out of the drawer.

"What papers?" Sirius asked.

"First the ones officially recognising you as Lord Black, then the ones which would legally recognise the Tonks family as part of the extended Black family again," Harry explained. "I assumed you would want them added back in. Plus it also means you would be my magical guardian. Do you want to be my guardian?"

"Of course," Sirius said quickly.

"Good, we also have other things to discuss. First you need to authorize an immediate investigation into your holdings, to discover what Malfoy may have stolen from you. Also, I would ask you to not banish or break the Lestrange marriage," he requested.

"Why?"

Deciding to go easy on his godfather since he was still adapting to his sudden release, "Simple, as Lord Black you would hold the Lestrange proxy by default. This was being held by Lord Malfoy, but with your freedom you can take control of these seats and the management of these vaults and assets due to your position as Lord Black. Effectively you can use the Lestrange votes for more moral purposes."

"Ok, so we use the votes to screw Malfoy and all his Death Eater buddies over. I can live with that," Sirius said with a smirk. "Plus Bella would throw a fit at it."

"Good, I'm sure Dawnberg can explain everything," Harry said, getting a bit bored of having to explain everything all the time.

**That evening**

Harry collapsed on his bed, exhausted from the day's events, but also feeling a sense of achievement considering everything he had just accomplished. Sure there was still a lot to do over next couple days to bring Sirius fully up to speed on everything that had transpired. He had already mentioned his mistreatment, editing over most of the abuse rather than make his Godfather feel even guiltier about it, even telling Ted and Andy. Also, he included how he had effectively been living by himself for the last year since discovering he was a wizard. Not that he could keep it secret any longer, considering Sirius was his magical guardian and would be staying at his home until they could get a proper home.

So a lot of secrets were told and Sirius seemed to be up for getting some measure of pay back on his relatives. Harry was leaning towards the more permanent kind of revenge himself, such as a portkey that would dump the family in the middle of the Amazon.

He also told Sirius about the fact his vaults were mismanaged and evidence suggested that the Headmaster had been leaching additional funds from it. In short, most of the evening was filled with getting Sirius up to speed on everything that had happened.

**The Midnight Gold**

**Couple days later**

Pushing his blue hair out of his eyes as he overlooked number 12 Grimmauld place, he could understand why his godfather disliked the place based on its depressing appearance.

"See what I mean, Harry?" his godfather asked.

"Yes, but it's the best option available to us at this time," he said, referring to the wards.

"Maybe that is the case, but I still have a lot of bad memories here."

"Sirius, you are now Lord Black," he stressed the Lord part. "You are well within your right to burn the house down if you desire it and then have it rebuilt the way you want! This is your house, not your mother's. You can choose what it means to you now. You can even go as far as decorating it with Gryffindor colours and play-wizard posters if you choose to," he said, seeing amusement lighting up his godfather's eyes at the idea, before he quickly added, "However my room will be decorated how I want it to be, with some style."

"I still can't believe you're a Ravenclaw," Sirius said shaking his head.

"I could have easily been a Slytherin, you've already seen my cunning side," referring to the recent events.

"Something that I am most grateful for I assure you," Sirius said giving him a serious look. "You are so much like your mother, so grown up you know."

"What can I say; I was forced to grow up due to my relatives. It what happens when your only haven is a classroom and the local library," seeing his dogfather flinch at the statement. "Come on, let's check the place out and decide whether we should burn it down."

Getting to the door Harry said, "You first," because he didn't know what the wards would do, nor did he want to test them, considering the Black family reputation.

"If you insist," Sirius replied before stepping up to the door and saying, "I Sirius Orion Black, as my right as Lord Black and owner of this property demand entry."

He watched with interest as Sirius picked up a piece of broken glass, which had appeared out of thin air and cut open the palm of his hand, before smearing it across the door and healing the cut with flick of his new wand. The wand ironically had a whisker of a grim as it core, with mahogany wood.

The blood slowly faded into the door, before the door glowed gold for second, made a 'clicking' sound and swung open, granting them access to the house. Harry followed his godfather through the door carefully, staying fully alert for any traps.

'Pop'

The noise caused him to instantly spin around, his wand shooting into his hand, ready to defend himself, just to see an aged house elf. He lowered his wand slightly, but still was on guard since house elves were very powerful within their own properties, especially old ones, since they were so in tune with the house's magic.

"Kreacher," Sirius said in greeting, in a rather harsh tone.

"Master Sirius returns home," the elf said in rather mocking fashion, which was surprising considering every elf he had met so far had been overly polite and helpful.

"Kreacher, immediately start making this place habitable."

"Of course, as master wishes," the elf said, once again giving a mocking bow.

"Good, this is my godson Harry. You will respect him, and take orders from him as if I was giving the orders to you myself. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master Sirius. Is that all?"

"No, you will not attempt to harm us by any means, and you will not tell any of our secrets. Now get on with your tasks, I want this place clean and tidy," his godfather said dismissing the elf. With a pop the elf was gone.

"I sense a story," Harry probed, wondering why his godfather was so harsh to the elf.

"Let's just say Kreacher made my life very difficult, and was very much my mother's favourite elf." he said, offering no further explanation.

Just nodding, accepting the explanation, he was sure he would find out more in time. It didn't take long to find out more after a rather rude meeting with the former Lady Black's portrait, and being called a blood traitor no sooner than a minute into the discussion. The wall mounted with house elf heads was almost as disturbing as the portrait.

Turning to his godfather, realizing they would be better off starting anew Harry said, "I think we need to start from scratch and go through the whole place and gut it. We can put any heirlooms and items of historical important in a vault, and get rid of everything else. After all, I doubt you want the elf heads?"

"Yea," Sirius said, obviously not listening.

"So you want the elf heads or yes to gutting the place," he probed, raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"You know what I mean, or do you want pink eyebrows as well blue hair?" Sirius threatened.

"Just saying," he said quickly, already hating the fact he had blue hair. Actually it wasn't the fact it was blue, he mostly hated that he didn't know a spell to change it back! Hopefully it would wear out before he went back to Hogwarts.

"Yea pup," Sirius responded before asking, "You said you read the animagus book me and James were working on. How far have you got?" never mentioning Peters name.

"Hmm, I read the whole thing twice so far. I'm trying to access my inner animal by using my mind arts, rather than using a potion or ritual. It may be more difficult, but from your own notes you mentioned a hypothesis that it would help build a more powerful connection, as well as help transfer some of my forms natural gifts to my human form," he explained to his godfather who just nodded.

"Why am I not surprised. Of course you would pick the hardest way to achieve a transformation," Sirius said shaking his head in amusement. "You know the potion would be so much quicker."

"Yea, I know it was the reason the potion was originally created, but I feel I would be cheating myself, you know," he said hoping Sirius would understand.

"No I don't," he said shaking his head.

"I just feel it in my magic that by taking an easy way, such as using the potion I would lose out on something beautiful, and special," Harry said, talking honestly. Sure he had yet to see his animal and only got a mist surrounding the creature, but he could feel it.

"I'll take you word on it," Sirius said, pausing for second before adding, "Maybe you could ask Professor McGonagall about it, I'm sure the old bird will know something about it."

"Old bird, surly you mean ancient old bird," he said with smirk, getting a chuckle out of his godfather, lightening the mood.

"Yea but seriously, that old bird knows a lot about transfiguration and animagi, she could help."

"Maybe," he said, not really wanting knowledge that he was working towards an animal form to be public. "Shouldn't we get started on cleaning this place?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure, but I think we're going to need an extra pair of hands or 3," Sirius stated in agreement, whilst wiping a finger across the surface, picking up a thick layer of dust and grime.

"We might as well make a start whilst we here," he said pulling out his wand. "You still have a couple hours before you are meant to meet Remus," stressing the word you, having no desire to meet his father's second friend.

**Couple hours later**

Harry quickly threw on a clean pair of jeans and a top after a quick shower because he was hoping to get out of house before Remus arrived. He strapped his wand holster to his arm, making sure it was fastened before putting on his watch.

Quickly looking himself over in mirror, he checked his appearance before smiling, happy with the results, even with having to work around having blue hair thanks to his godfather's pranks.

He headed down the stairs to grab an apple on the way out, as well as a couple other things, but luck was not on his side. As he entered the kitchen, he noticed an unfamiliar figure sitting next to his godfather, who had to be Remus. He wasn't impressed based on the man's shabby appearance, not that it was surprising considering how hard life was for a werewolf within Britain with all the anti-werewolf laws in place.

Making to leave, he heard Sirius call, "Harry."

He was half tempted to ignore his godfather, however the mature part of him decided otherwise. "Yes Sirius," Harry answered while looking over his shoulder.

"My god, he looks just like James, but the eyes are all Lily," Remus said none too quietly.

Sirius ignored Remus' comment and said, "Harry I want to introduce you to Remus, a.k.a. Moony."

Raising an eyebrow at his godfather's odd behaviour, before saying rather coldly, "I kind of guessed that. No need to state the obvious, after all you have been going on about meeting up with him all morning."

"Harry, be nice," Sirius scolded before saying affectionately. "Me and Remus were just going over old times," smiling at his friend. "He's been looking forward to meeting you."

"Harry, it's nice to finally get a chance to see you again. I remember when I first met your father in my first year, bragging about his Quidditch prowess. Your mother just sat there looking at him like he was fool, who knew they would get together," shaking his head at the idea. "They turned out to be a truly amazing couple and the world is darker without them in it. I still remember the day your mother tried getting you to call me uncle Moony. So I look forward to getting to know you, like I did with your father and mother and help watch over you like they asked me all those years ago," Remus said with sad smile, putting his hand forward.

"Really?" he challenged, ignoring the outstretched hand. "For someone who talks so fondly of my father and mother, you never contacted me, their orphan son," making Remus recoil at the remark.

"Harry," Sirius protested as Harry walked away.

"It's true though, for someone who was meant to be one of my parent's choices for my magical guardian if anything ever happen to them," Harry snapped, referring to his mother journal. "He never contacted me, never checked up on me. So what right does he have to just walk in here and act like he's an old friend? You have an excuse for not being there, he doesn't. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going out."

Leaving the room and grabbing his sweater, before throwing some floo powder in the fire place, he muttered his destination so he couldn't be followed. As he walked into the fire he heard Sirius call out, "Wait!" as he disappeared.

**Sirius Pov**

"Wait!" he shouted out to no prevail as his godson disappeared in the magical fire, before mumbling, "That could have gone better."

Walking back into the kitchen he said, "He's gone."

"Shouldn't we go after him?" Remus asked with concern.

"Not unless you know where he could have gone," he shot back, feeling a bit annoyed at the situation before saying, "He has a point you know, why didn't you check on him like we promised James and Lily?"

"Truthfully, I don't know why I didn't." his werewolf friend admitted. "After James and Lily's deaths, and your so called betrayal and 'murder' of Peter, I kind of lost it. I just wanted to get away from all the death and misery, so I ran," Remus shouted in anger. Whether he was blaming Sirius or himself for his actions he couldn't tell.

"By the time I got my head together and contacted our old Headmaster, he informed me that Harry had been placed with his loving muggle relatives and for his safety his location couldn't be revealed."

At this, Sirius couldn't help but snort at the idea of Harry's relatives being loving.

"Besides, I'm a werewolf; I'm not safe to be around, especially not for children."

Sirius rolled his eyes, since it was same old story as when Remus was at Hogwarts, never dating at all due to his condition.

"Something funny?" Remus asked, in an annoyed tone.

"First, you are the safest werewolf I know and your condition only affects you one night a month. I know a fair few wizards who are more feral than you are, even as a werewolf. Also, that crap you bought about keeping Harry safe, you could have at least written to him or have been there at the station last year to see him off It's not like the departure date has changed in last two hundred years," he stated.

"Maybe, but Dumbledore said he was fine and the Headmaster has never been wrong. He led us successfully against You-Know-Who," Remus protested.

"Successfully?" Sirius challenged with rising anger. "You call James and Lily deaths a success? Or the hundreds of other wizards and witches who were murdered in their beds? Let alone the tens of thousands of muggles who got killed in the crossfire? We won by luck! Unless you're saying Dumbledore knew that You-Know-Who's killing curse would back fire and intentionally set Frank and Alice up to die?" he shot back with venom. "And even then I spent the next decade in jail due to the Headmaster's word, whilst real Death Eaters walked free!" he barked, feeling the desire to transform and rip something apart.

"Wrong choice of words," Remus admitted, seeing his friends rising anger. "By god I miss them too," he said before picking up his drink

Calming slightly, "I miss them too," Sirius admitted. He was half tempted to mention that Harry relatives had been far from a loving family to try and drive the point home of the Headmaster's ability to be wrong, but decided otherwise since it wasn't his place to share that knowledge, it was his godson's. He suspected there was more to it based on Tonks expression, suggesting she knew much more. He wouldn't break the trust his godson had in him so soon by telling Remus of his childhood.

"What am I going to do?" Remus asked.

"I don't know," he admitted, already accepting that Harry was far more like Lily than James. This made it somewhat easier to separate the two despite their looks, but it also meant that it would be far harder to mend this bridge. James would just hex you or punch you and it would be cool afterwards, but Lily would hold on to it and drag out her payback. "We'll think of something," he said, throwing his friend a bone.

"I hope so."

"We will," he said reassuringly to his friend before his eyes lit up with a plan, "I've got an idea."

"What is it?" Remus questioned.

"I just became the owner of my parent's old house, which is run down with age and lack of care since they passed way. Me and Harry are going to clean it and make it our home, since the wards on the place are better than anything else Harry or I own," he said with flick of his hand. "It's a big task and will require a lot of work, since its big place, so an extra pair of hands could be useful," he said, shooting his friend a cunning look, similar to that of dog who just about to snatch a slice of bacon off its' owner's plate without being noticed.

"Are you sure about this? It could just make it worse," the werewolf probed.

"Absolutely," he said with grin as a plan took shape in his mind, whilst taking a butterbeer out of the fridge. "Plus it's a big place, loads of rooms and a big basement suitable for holding a werewolf, so you could always move in. And frankly two marauders working together, what could possibly happen? It's not like he will be able to prank us. He's not James, he's more like Lily," he stated with conviction. "Besides I own the place, so it's up to me on who I allow to stay, not Harry."

"If you say so," Remus said with an unsure smile, taking the butterbeer out of Sirius's hand. "But if he takes after Lily you know it could become worse before it gets better. Severus still has that greasy hair from when he called her a mudblood in our 6th year you know?"

"Really?" Sirius responded, feeling slightly less sure now, before asking, "Any idea how she did it? I was thinking it over whilst I was locked up and still couldn't figure it out," very much impress that her revenge was still in place after so many years.

"No, but I know it's not a potion, otherwise Severus would have been able to fix it by now. He's not a potions master for no reason," Remus admitted, thinking over the incident. "It has to be a charm. One she created herself and you know what she was like,"

"Yea," he agreed, remembering Lily helping them get the spells working for the Marauder's Map.

"You certain about this Sirius, I'd rather not have to deal with whatever Lily did to Snape, remember I have a lot more hair than you."

Sirius got a mental image of Remus's werewolf form with greasy body hair, with the moonlight reflecting off it, causing him to chuckle at the idea. He quickly sobered though at the horrible thought of his own form suffering from the same greasy haired fate, making him pale at idea, before saying more to assure himself rather than Remus, "That will never happen."

**Headmasters Pov**

Albus pinched his nose in annoyance as he put down the latest edition of Prophet, before wondering what to do about his newest headache caused by young Harry's summer activates and the release of his godfather. Not that he was upset that Sirius had been released and cleared; it was good to know that Sirius had indeed been innocent after all, the former Gryffindor had always been one his favourites. He did feel guilty about his role in the man's imprisonment, and the private knowledge that the youthful man he once knew, had probably died in Azkaban by his hand.

What annoyed him most about the whole ordeal was the fallout. Once again his plans had been upset and now his judgement was being questioned by the press, giving some real ground to Lucius concerns about his leadership. Not that Lucius was much of a danger anymore, after the loss of the Black and Lestrange votes and their collective vaults. However, the man could still cause some serious harm with his current plot to have him removed, if events went against the Headmaster.

And then there was Bones announcing an investigation into how an innocent man was sent to jail without a trial. This caused a full out media blitz with demands for a statement to go along with the entire Wizengamot being in an uproar over the whole issue.

He couldn't tell if it was due to the fact that an innocent man and a so called Lord was falsely imprisoned by his hand or the fact that Lord Malfoy had just lost ¾ of his own votes over the whole ordeal. There was also the fact that Madam Bones had been able to get such a trial passed under their collective noses without being noticed. This once again confirmed his belief that he needed to get an agent within the Department of Law Enforcement, so he wouldn't be caught off guard again and left holding the blame for something like this.

Sighing, he tried to weigh the best way to achieve such an ends, now that Mad-Eye was retiring. Mad-Eye was good for bits and pieces since his magical eye saw many secrets, but everyone knew he was Dumbledore's man, so his value as a spy was limited to what could be seen. Ultimately he needed to get a new face or two within the department, to replace the ones he lost.

Before long, his mind was once again thinking about politics and the shifting factions resulting from Sirius' freedom. Surely it wouldn't affect the elections, since all the bribing and political manoeuvring had already been done, but still it had upset the nest and added a new element to the game.

Now all anyone could do was wait and see which side of the fence Sirius decided to come down on.

He was personally betting that Sirius would come back under his wing and bring those votes with him, ensuring his control of Wizengamot for the near future, as soon as the man realized he was out of his depth.

Checking his grandfather clock, he saw that he better get going if he wanted to get to meeting with the newest recruits for the next generation of the Order of the Phoenix on time, after all it wouldn't do to be late.

"Fawkes," he called out, causing his familiar to instantly appear by his side. Stroking his partner affectionately he said, "The Shrieking Shack please, my friend," before disappearing in a flood of flames and instantly arriving in the upper floor of the building. Looking around his secondary office, he checked the wards to see they were fine and intact.

Albus quickly cast several high powered cleaning charms, to remove the dust and grime from the place, before lighting the fire place with a flick of his wand. This made the backup office seem as warm and friendly as possible, just like his office within the school, but without the spying portraits and the horde of students.

After all, as a head of a secret organisation it wouldn't do to advertise its membership by making them walk through Hogwarts, where countless students could see them, as well feed the Hogwarts rumour mill. He would have to add a couple portraits to help watch over the place, as well having a corresponding paintings in his office for extra security. It was helped that Remus often used the lower floor to safely transform and would often end up howling the night away, scaring way curious eyes.

You could say he had a guard dog of sorts, which cause him to chuckle at an old joke from his youth about werewolves only being good for protecting their masters. Added to this was the fact that the man was completely unaware that he had set up shop above him, all due to several clever wards and enchantments which could easily keep a cursebreaker busy for several days.

He then walked over to the window so he could watch the path, knowing all too well he still had another 10 minutes before his former students arrived. This gave him plenty of time to go over his speech and gather his aura of leadership.

Fancying a lemon drop, he turned to his desk to realize he didn't have any, sighing with the realization at last at what he had forgot to bring, before making a mental note for next time.

**End of chapter**

**Authors Notes: **I found this chapter hard to write, to the point I rewrite it about a dozen times 'Sirius selection,' due to the burden of trying to write an effective first meeting with Sirius, as well keeping it original, and not copying another author work. Has you can imagine, Sirius is a highly popular character and is not one what you can underplay.

Remus... well that was difficult in its own right... I can understand why in the 3rd book, that Harry is instantly accepting of his father old friend, due to Sirius Black escape, as well being isolated with no real family of his own. However it occurred to me, that my 'Harry' could very much reject his father friend, due to already having a make shift family, and would naturally be opposed to Remus, due to his sudden interest in Harry's life.

Also wanted Sirius and Remus duo to get underway, and get this pairs interaction going, since I doubt Sirius could outright reject his last childhood friend without a proper reason.

Therefore I hope has author this is acceptable and believable without isolating or removing Remus from the story completely.

I wonder if any of you will be able to guess the next plot twist/ development.

Looking forward to the feedback.


	23. Y2 The Year of the Serpent

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure Let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note: **I could have done another chapter on the summer holidays, with Sirius and Remus and Harry working to repair Number 12, and general character development. As well Sirius meeting different Lords and ladies, but thought it be bit boring, and it was time to move on to start of New Year, since there has been about 5 chapters involving the summer holidays.

So I hope you all agree with me, and it's time to move on,

Chapters 5 and 6 have been reposted and betad.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord **

**Chapter ****23: ****The Year of the Serpent**

**Revised and Beta by ****BuckeyeForLife**** on**** 22th Nov**

It was an interesting experience walking across the platform and watching how people cleared the way for him and Sirius as they headed to the train. They were now just waiting for Tonks and her family to arrive, who were still trying to deal with everything that had been happening to them lately. The Tonks family had shot up in status and prestige almost instantly once the knowledge of them being a part of the Black family had become public.

Even Michael Hutt had sent Tonks a note in the hopes of getting her to meet up with him, followed by a box of chocolates saying he was sorry. Both the note and the chocolates had been totally ignored, though Harry was more than willing to admit Michael had good taste in chocolates. Tonks may have tossed them to the side, but Harry had tried a few and found they were rather tasty and he wasn't about to let anything that good go to waste.

Already Nym had received several marriage contracts proposals, which was very entertaining. They were basically meaningless since her parents would never sign one without her permission, and frankly Ted and Sirius were still walking funny after she cursed them for joking about signing one on her behalf. They had even gone to the effort of creating a fake document engaging her to an 85 year old Lord Trollope, which they had signed and showed to her during an evening meal. Sirius still claimed the prank was worth the pain because of the brief look of horror that Tonks displayed, before she realized the contract was a fake and began cursing the two of them. In reality whenever a contract was received they were decline politely, rather than offend the houses who wished to jump on the Black bandwagon.

It was clear to any ambitious family within the ministry that the Black family was back in business and was very much at the top of the political tree, and would be for some time. Hence they were an attractive choice for any family seeking an alliance; since they were a new player and seemed to be in a neutral position between the existing political parties. They were neither extreme like the pureblood supremacists, nor revolutionary like some of the more active light families. In short, they were very much in the middle, providing an additional option for many families.

Sirius had already received several requests for meetings with different houses, who were all trying to work out where he stood on the political battlefield, and who he would eventually side with. Harry had sat in on several of those meetings, much to annoyance of the various visiting heads of families, who thought he was too young to attend. He rather enjoyed making them sweat with his probing questions and double talk, which made it clear he was more than capable than his age suggested.

Also, one of the benefits of being there in person was that it allowed him to see who was who. He was also able to keep his godfather from making a total fool of himself, not that there was much of a chance of this happening. Andy seemed to be drilling Sirius in the world of politics just as much as he was. However, Sirius was making it clear he preferred anything but politics, and instead wanted to go travelling for awhile. Not that anyone could blame him for wanting to see the world after being locked up for decade. But the politics were necessary to ensure the family's success, so Harry was trying to get his godfather to see it as a game to outwit his rivals.

Looking around the platform, Harry examined the other families gathered around and started putting names to faces. It would be an interesting year, since in the first year his status had been rather quite, but that would be impossible now with all of the Daily Prophet articles. His station and position as one of the top families in Britain, just due to his Potter heritance, let alone the fact that he was rumoured to be the Black family heir. And that would be another big topic of discussion within the school and political cycles.

Some of the more observant members of the crowd would notice that he was already wearing a Black family ring, which made his status as a dual heir to two Ancient and Noble families known to the world. This screamed, 'Don't fuck with me; I can bury you and your children's grand-children,' which was fine by him. They still didn't know about his Peverell lordship, which made a great ace in the hole.

Either way, some of the more politically aware students would already be examining for any openings or weaknesses. This probably included most of Slytherin house, besides the ones who were too arrogant to think he could be a threat to their power or those to dim to put together what his dual rings meant.

So it was going to be interesting, dealing with those who saw him as way to power and status. It would be curious to see how long it took them to realize he was very much a snake in his own right, and wouldn't be easily manipulated. Also, he was interested to see how the teachers reacted, especially individuals such as Snape and the Headmaster, who had to know full well the trouble he could cause them now that Sirius was freed and the Headmaster no longer was his guardian. At least they had an agreement already in place, but it wouldn't surprise him if he had a sit down with the Headmaster sometime soon.

Not that he had any personal plans to cause trouble or rub salt in the wound, as long Snape stayed civil and out of his life. Seeing Tonks and her family finally arriving, they put on a bit of a show greeting each other to show that the Black family was united. They knew full well that it would be in press would be handing around somewhere, due to Rita passing on information that they were currently 'hot stuff' and the editor wanted an article on them, be it good or bad. The family was doing everything they could to ensure it was good story rather than a bad one.

"Shall we find a suitable compartment?" he questioned.

"Sure pup, unless you want to wait for some of your friends?" his godfather responded.

Smiling at the idea of seeing some of his friends, since he hadn't seen Daphne or Tracy since the start of the holidays, "While it would be nice to see them again and introduce you to them, they can always find me on the train. Besides it's a bit crowded here for that."

"If you're sure pup."

Offering his arm to Tonks, who quickly hooked her arm in his, Harry made a show of being a gentlemen and leading his cousin onto the train, all the while ignoring the flashes of the cameras. This confirmed that the reporters were very much interested in his family. He personally led them to the front of the train, just behind the prefect compartments before settling down for trip ahead.

"Feels good to be on this train again, it's a shame I couldn't be here last year to see you off Pup," Sirius said soberly, obviously recalling his own time at Hogwarts.

"At least you're here now. That's what matters in the end, besides it's not your fault, unlike others who have no excuse," Harry said, trying to lessen his godfather's guilt on the subject.

"Thanks Harry," Sirius responded while patting him on the shoulder. "I wish you would forgive Remus though, his life hard enough as it is."

"Maybe I will, but why should I? He wasn't there when I needed him all though years ago, and he blames it all on his condition as to why he couldn't be there. If he wanted to be a part of my life so much, why didn't he write to me last year? Or come to the platform and try to see me off? Like I said, that man uses his condition as an excuse for all of his misfortune," he stated gravely to Sirius, making his opinion of Remus clear.

"Harry has a point Sirius. If Remus wanted to be a part of Harry's life why wait until now? I know I don't have much of excuse since I knew James and Lily, but I was nowhere near as close to them as you and Remus were," Ted argued.

Sirius quickly glanced around the compartment, looking for some support, but when none was forthcoming he just sighed. "Harry, you may feel betrayed by the man, but he is the only friend I have left. So would you please be civil with him, or at least not be so hostile to him," Sirius pleaded, using puppy dog eyes to devastating effect.

"Fine Sirius, but don't expect me to be warm and friendly to him."

Hearing a chime, announcing the train would be leaving soon, "We need to get going, the train will be leaving in a minute,"Andromeda commented, before giving both of them hugs.

"Now remember Harry, if you need anything just use the mirror to contact me, and do some pranking for me on some Slytherins," Siruis said with a smile.

"Fine Sirius, as long you remember to tell me about any developments of importance," Harry demanded.

"Sure, Pup, just try to have some fun and relax a bit," Sirius replied before giving him a manly hug.

"I will, you just be careful. Eventually Lucius is going to attempt to get back at you for calling in those contracts," he stated seriously, hoping his godfather would keep his guard up and not do anything foolish.

"What are you my mother?" Sirius joked. "Being serious for once, I can handle myself. Besides, I'll have Remus watching my back, but watch yourself too. I wouldn't put it past Lucius to try offing you."

"Meh, at the moment he will have bigger concerns than revenge on me. Sure he will try, but his household is in crisis and he doesn't have the cash to spare to attempt to kill me and hope to get away with it. Besides the man has hundreds of enemies who now have a chance to strike back at him for every insult he ever made, and who are far more dangerous than me. Plus, he will have to contend with power plays in his own faction, since he's been weakened so badly. Worst case scenario, if he tries something I'm sure I could hire an assassin or two to kill him off. It's not like I don't have the money," he stated semi-seriously to the shock of individuals in the cabin.

"What?" he questioned when he saw everybody staring at him open-mouthed.

"Harry, you just said you would hire assassins to kill him. Killing is wrong!" Sirius exclaimed in an alarmed fashion.

"Then you are naive, sometimes in life its kill or be killed, dog eat dog. And as far as I am concerned if he attempts something, it gives me permission to retaliate with lethal force. Besides, we all know he is a murderer and a rapist who should be rotting in jail rather than walking free, pretending to be decent respectable fellow. I would be doing the world a favour by removing him, which would prevent him from harming anyone else ever again."

"Seriously Harry, killing is wrong and should never be permitted," he stressed.

"Seriously Sirius, wake up. Do you ever wonder who would be alive today if from the moment the Death Eaters started their murdering and raping, that instead of stunning and binding them, you had done what needed to be done and removed them permanently?" looking at his back shift family.

Seeing no reply was fore coming he continued on, "They could have never bribed their way out of jail to continue their service to their Dark Lord. Would my mum and dad still be alive? Would I be alive now if I tried to stun and capture that troll last year? No I would be dead, splattered on the bathroom floor like a bug, along with several others and you would be in jail still. So open your eyes and see the truth of issue. At times it's necessary to kill, to take life to allow life to continue. At the end of day, the question is why you do it. For personal gain, for power, or for survival and peace?" he asked sagely, since he had spent the days after he killed the troll full of turmoil and in an internal debate, wrestling with his own feelings, even if the logical part of him knew he had done what was necessary.

"You killed at troll?" Sirius asked in open mouthed shock.

"Long story, but yes I killed a troll last year when it somehow got into Hogwarts. I have no regrets, it was kill or be killed and I saved a girl's life for sure," he stated with conviction, thinking over the fight.

"It's true," Tonks stated, adding her piece to the argument, as the overheard speakers announced the ten minute warning to departure.

"Let's leave the issue for now, we gain nothing by arguing over it," Harry stated, not wishing to leave on a sour note.

"Agreed, let's not spoil the morning," Ted said before kissing his daughter on the top of her head.

"Dad!" she protested in embarrassment.

After saying their final good-byes, the adults left and Harry and Tonks made themselves comfortable and exchanged small talk as they waited on the train to leave. He took the seat next to the window, so he could look out over the platform and watch the last families start to board.

Casting a privacy charm on the door so they could talk in private, "This is going to be interesting year, I can feel it," he stated, thinking of a couple of personal missions, such as getting some answers to what happened at end of the previous school year involving professor Quirrell, and if rumours of Neville confronting Lord Voldemort were true or not.

"What do you mean?" Tonks asked.

"Well, it's going to be interesting seeing how many people now want to be our friends, or in your case boyfriend, just due to our status and all being public," he said, not mentioning his plans and concerns.

"I have you to thank for that. Now I have to worry about people wanting to marry me due to my family name and money, as well as my abilities," she pouted.

"At least you know, and frankly now that you know it, you can avoid it. Besides if they annoy you, I am sure I can try my hand at pranking them. It's up to you in the end; you have no marriage contract to worry about."

"That's one good thing at least. Harry did you mean what you said about killing Lucius if he tried something?" she asked in concerned manner.

Thinking it over, considering first Lucius' history as a Death Eater and then his current plot, which involved the Chamber of Secrets and could potentially risk the lives of hundreds of students in bid for power, made the choice a rather easy one. "Yes, and someday you will be faced with the same choice if you want to be an Auror. You will have to fight, duel, and maybe even kill in some cases, but it all comes down to choice and motive. If a wizard is casting deadly curses such as killing curses at you, should you be bound by the concept of capturing and stunning? What right does he have to live instead of you? My mother and father faced the same moral choice in the last war, it was kill or be killed."

Glancing at his cousin Harry continued, "There are times in life where you will be faced with impossible choices, choices you don't like and will hate, but during these times we must harden ourselves and become ruthless in order to live to see the next day. We must become like a blade, a weapon. Only after the killing and the bloodshed has stopped and the threat has been removed can we repent and show mercy and forgiveness to our foes, for the choices they made. To do otherwise, in time of war would only play in the enemies favour," he explained, repeating arguments he could recall from all the books he read on the morals of war and conflict.

Thinking over the rumours of Longbottom fighting You-Know-Who the previous year, he decide to give an example.

"Tonks," he said grabbing his cousin attention. "What if tomorrow Lord Voldemort somehow returned to this world, and renewed his war? His Death Eaters would rally to him and start up their campaign of terror again. Would you show mercy to them knowing full well they would show you none, give you no quarter or pity? They would torture and rape you before killing you. Killing itself does not make you a monster, the reasons why you kill do. If they returned, I would do everything in my power to break them, not just for revenge, but also to remove the danger," he stated with cold conviction, but his insides burned with the concept of getting revenge.

"Think on it Tonks," he said, before the cabin fell into silence.

**Midnight Gold**

"Can you believe it? Gilderoy Lockhart, the Gilderoy Lockhart is going to teaching here this year!" Lavender exclaimed. Lavender and Parvati had been bouncing with excitement ever since they decided to join Padma in sitting with Harry, who was alone after Tonks went to meet up with some of her friends.

"Sadly no, I can't believe that fraud is teaching here," Harry commented, earning him a stink-eye from the two Lions.

"How can you call him a fraud? He's a great man," Parvati said.

"Did you even read the books?" he asked dryly, just to receive a round of nods. "Then you will notice the spells aren't real, they're made up. I had my godfather try them and he was an Auror, before you say he obviously wasn't casting them right. And if you check the books, you clearly see that the times and dates don't match up. In one book he's in Africa fighting a Nundu, while at the same time he's dining with vampires in another book. So unless he has way to control time, and be in two different places at once, he is obviously lying. Frankly most of the book is about fashion tips not DADA. It's more of a story book than teaching material."

"Whatever, we'll just see in class," Lavender stated with certainly.

"And you'll be disappointed with your hero," Harry answered calmly, earning himself another pair of evil looks.

"You going to try for seeker this year Harry?" Padma said, quickly changing the subject.

"Seeker or chaser, I don't care which really since there advantages to either position are, but if it really came down to it I would prefer to be seeker," he stated, thinking over the training he did with Sirius.

"Why seeker?" Parvati asked, joining the conversation.

"It's the glory position in school because most of the games are decided by the seeker. Most games at Hogwarts don't last very long, which doesn't give the chasers much time to make an impact. But when you play at the national and international levels, chasers are normally the deciding factors of the game. Since I probably won't have the time to go 'pro' after I leave school, due to my duties, seeker is the better choice. Plus my father played seeker from his second year on," he explained to Parvati.

"Slytherin will have a new seeker this year, since Terence Higgs graduated," Parvati replied, ignoring Lavender's pouting. "I wonder who it will be this year?" "Draco Malfoy will be the Slytherin seeker, his father brought the team a set of new Nimbus 2001 brooms," he stated with certainty, remembering the meeting. "How can you know?" Lavender demanded. "Because I saw him buy a set of seven when I was in Diagon Alley, why else would Draco need 7 broomsticks? Unless he is that bad and keeps breaking them," Harry said, causing the girls to break out in giggles. "And he all but admitted to me in the store that he bought his way in, before his father intervened."

"That sucks," the twins said in unison.

Harry just shrugged and said, "Yeah it does, but Tracy told us last year that Draco was going to make a play for the spot. What can you do? It doesn't matter anyways, the guy probably sucks on a broom and will lose anyways. Why else would he buy his way onto the team without even trying out? If the spoiled brat was at least half skilled, he would have tried out first and then arrange for everyone to get new brooms, after he won his place on the team. It would be what I would do," Harry said before giving Padma a wink, hinting at one of his schemes for the upcoming year. After all, both the Black and Potter families were both share holders in Nimbus Brooms. They owned around twenty percent each from when the two houses had a marriage alliance.

Even with his part ownership of the Nimbus brand, he was tempted to back a new up and coming company called Fire Stream_,_ just on off chance they produced a popular broom. He had a meeting with the owners already set up over the Christmas break for the final talks. Who knew what would happen, after all Nimbus was one of the five main broom providers in Europe, but most of its business came from Britain and Ireland. One could never know when a new broom or gold mine could appear with the right backing.

After all, all older companies eventually die out and get replaced with new and improved ones. Fire Stream could very well replace Nimbus in the end, and frankly it was better to get his foot in door now whilst the owners and developers needed money, rather than later when they was already successful.

Looking out the window, he realized that they were already half way through their journey to Hogwarts. Time really did fly by when you are having fun, and he still hadn't been visited by Daphne and Tracy. He thought about trying to hunt them down, but the train would arrive at Hogsmeade station soon, and he would get his chance to see them there. Seeing the girls were talking about _Witch Weekly_, which he had no interest in, he pulled out a book.

"Don't mind me ladies, I'm going to read for bit," he announced,

"Runes?" Parvati questioned, obviously not knowing his interest in them.

"Yeah, runes are one of the most important areas of magic. Understanding them can open up so many different branches of magic," Harry responded.

"What you mean?" Lavender probed.

"Lavender, almost all permanent types of magic are based on runes, and higher level spells require wand movements in rune formations. The clothes you have on right now even have basic runes, to extend the life of the charms on them so they last several years instead of months," he lectured.

**Sometime later – Great Hall**

'It's good to be back,' Harry thought. He had missed this place rather a lot, even with all the annoying people in it. Choosing to take a seat next to Terry, he joined in on the small talk so he could catch up on events of each other's summer until dinner got underway.

"Hi Terry, you have a good summer?"

"Fine Harry, you?"

"Eventful. I'm guessing you didn't see the Prophet a couple weeks ago then."

"Nope, I was in Spain enjoying the sun," showing off his tan to the table, "So what happened?" the boy probed.

"In short, I got my Godfather cleared of false murder charges, whilst at same time causing a shift in the balance of power in the Wizengamot by breaking the political back of the Malfoy family," he explained to the stunned boy while getting the attention of most of the surrounding Ravenclaws.

"Really?" Terry asked.

"Really" Harry stated with certainly.

"Wow!"

"Yeah, not bad for a summer. It's also why the older members of Slytherin house are looking at me like a piece of meat, and why Draco is glaring at me," he said before waving at the blonde haired Slytherin, causing him to go red with rage. 'Good times,' he thought.

"Anything else?" Terry asked, whilst trying to hide a chuckle.

"Oh, I no longer have to attend Potions class, since all my work will be independently marked by an independent official." At that, Terry seemed to freeze up, along with the rest of Ravenclaw house.

"How?" Su Li demanded immediately.

"Long story short, I had enough of Snape being an ass and sabotaging my work. So starting after Christmas, I recorded each offense and eventually had enough serious charges, such as sabotaging my exanimation marks, and the evidence to prove them that I could easily get him fired. After that I presented a list of demands, effectively saying they would be met or the Prophet would find out, and you can guess what happened next," he stated, thinking that he didn't have to say anything else.

"So what happened next?" Terry asked.

Mentally sighing at having to explain such a simple thing as blackmail, Harry started revaluating whether befriending Terry was a good choice, despite the boy being talented at Potions.

"Terry, think about it. He's been teaching here for over a decade and has made a ton of enemies who now have jobs and have their own influence. How many students has he bullied or ruined their dreams and career choices, who now work in places like the Ministry or the press? Can't you imagine what would happen if that story got put on the front page of the Prophet? There would have been a public outcry for him to be fired, and the Headmaster and the Board of Governors would have no choice but to do just that, whilst Hogwarts would be publicly disgraced," Harry decided to make no mention of mind arts during his explanation of the deal.

"Wow."

"Yes, so in a sense I blackmailed the staff. Snape can do nothing to me, no points taken, no detention, nothing without it being approved by another Head of House," he stated with a cocky smile at effectively having a free pass for the next six years, since he was a favourite amongst the staff. All the staff knew of the bad blood between him and Snape now, so they would be more inclined to favour him as long as he didn't do anything stupid and obvious.

He received several comments of, "Well done," as well as other comments of approval from his surrounding housemates. Looking over at the great doors to see Deputy Headmistress heading out to greet the new students, and give her welcome speech.

"Thanks, but now I think we should calm down, the first years have arrived," Harry said while wondering how many new Ravenclaws there would be this year.

**After the sorting ceremony.**

It was one of the longer sorting ceremonies; Ravenclaw ended up getting an additional eleven members to call their own. However, before he could head to the common room and get settled back in, his Head of House came over, causing him to immediately guess the reason why.

"Harry, the Headmaster wishes to talk to you."

"Ok sir, could you join me? I'd prefer to have at least one adult present as a witness," he responded.

"Let me just see to the first years and I'll accompany you."

About a half an hour later, they arrived at the Headmaster's office. The office itself seemed very friendly and open, with different texts clearly displayed which just screamed of their contained knowledge.

"You wished to see me Headmaster?" Harry questioned, already guessing one of the reasons behind the meeting.

"Yes, Harry my boy. Is it ok if I call you Harry?"

"Yes, it's fine. I just don't like 'my boy,' it implies you know me," he said, seeing no point in being openly hostile.

"Lemon drop?"

"No, thank you sir."

"Now, I am sure you wondering why I asked you for this meeting," the Headmaster stated, his eyes twinkling.

"Not really, I can make a guess at some of your reasons," Harry answered, surprising both the Headmaster and his Head of House.

"Enlighten me?" Dumbledore responded.

"First, you want to get the events of last year sorted out so we can move on and bury the hatchet so to speak. For several reasons, but primarily due to Sirius being released I can now cause you a lot of trouble because of my status, as well my guardian's political position. Sirius doesn't trust you, and you are hoping that if you can get on more positive terms with me, you will have a better chance of improving your working relationship with Sirius. You are hoping you can work together in the Wizengamot for mutually beneficial goals and that won't happen if he can't trust you. Finally, you believe the Snape issue still isn't completely sorted." he stated, once again catching both professors off-guard with his foresight.

"So, the purpose of this meeting is to help set the ground work, so in future you can work with Sirius or me in politics. That is important to you, since we could easy cause you problems if we choose to resist bills and other motions."

"Well, it seems you have seen to the heart of the issue, burying the hatchet," the Headmaster said, ignoring Harry's comments about politics.

"Indeed sir."

"Now, will you be capable of living in same environment as Professor Snape?"

"Yes, as long as he holds up his end of our agreement, I won't provoke the man. I have no interest in conflict, but I have no issue with it if it's necessary. If he keeps to the terms of our agreement then we should have no problem," Harry stated.

"Well you see, that is part of problem. You will be the odd one out and students will question why you don't have to attend classes."

"Not my problem sir. He should have never used mind arts on me in the first place, nor been so childish to me. You know I could easily have him in jail for next decade," he stated with certainly, seeing the Headmaster frown at him not caving in.

"Harry, you must understand there are bigger issues at stake here," the Headmaster argued.

"What you fail to understand sir, is that I paid for my education here and don't a get grant like first-gen magicals. I am well within my rights to have a capable teacher or at least a civil one who doesn't act like childish bully. Would you like me to contact the Aurors? I have no problem with pressing charges for assault on the heir of an ancient household, and that will being up questions."

"And on my point of having capable teachers, why do we have Professor Binns or Professor Lockhart here?" Harry challenged, only to receive a blank look from both professors.

"What do you mean Harry?" the Headmaster asked.

"Have you even read the defence books that Professor Lockhart assigned?" he asked as respectfully as possible.

"I'm afraid not. I've been very busy, but my friends have assured me he is very capable," Dumbledore said in a grandfatherly tone.

"Then your friends are either idiots or fools. If you read the books you will find several mistakes, not to mention they seem more like fiction stories than learning material. The spells are made up for most part, Sirius tried them and none of them work," deciding not to mention he had as well during the summer, before adding another piece to his argument. "And finally the timeline of the stories doesn't make any sense. In one book he's battling vampires, while at the same time he is singing with sirens in another book. The man is a fraud, which a half-wit could tell you just by reading the first chapter of any of the man's books," he commented, seeing the Headmaster frown again, either at Harry's insults to his friends, or stating that a teacher was a fraud.

Professor Flitwick spoke up, "Surely you exaggerate Harry?"

"Not at all, just read them carefully; you find they are full of errors. I already have a letter written up to the staff and the Board of Governors about the issue, along with the necessary evidence. The letter also contains a request for a full refund of my tuition and for a replacement teacher to be provided," he lied, feeling like buffing.

"Really?" his Head of House asked in shock, whilst the headmaster just stayed quiet.

"Yes, please just read the texts over the weekend. A mind such as yours should notice the mistakes easily enough, plus a Charms Master like you should have no problem with checking the spells," he said in a tone that left no doubt he was correct.

The Headmaster removed his glasses and cleaned them before finally answering, "I will look into it Harry."

"Good, I was going to wait at least a week anyways before making a complaint. I wanted to see if his lessons were reasonable, so I could overlook the shortcomings of the texts. Is there anything else sir?"

"Harry is there anything I can do to persuade you to keep your views on Professor Snape and Professor Lockhart quiet?"

"I can't keep the reasons why I'm not attending Professor Snape's classes quiet, because I already told my friends," Harry said, knowing the Headmaster was mentally groaning at the news. "I stated that it was due to bad blood between my father, godfather and Snape, which is the reason I was excused from his classes. I didn't say anything about the illegal use of mind arts on me." This statement caused Dumbledore's eyes to light up at the news, since it was workable and believable story.

"On the note of Professor Lockhart, the only people who know my views are Sirius, Miss Tonks, and the Patil twins, since I shared the train ride with them. If you wish to stop me from complaining and help undo the negativity I am feeling towards you, there are a few requests you could help me with. First, I'd like to have permission to train with a bow on school grounds, since it isn't allowed under school rules because it is classified as a weapon. I find this really very funny considering how much harm can be done with a wand, just look at the average dark wizard. Also, I need a training range and permission to be out of the common room prior to six in morning so I can practice before classes. Finally, I need a private and secure potions lab, so I can study on my own without interruptions," he stated.

"Interesting, may I ask the reasoning behind the bow?" the Headmaster probed, his eyes lighting up with interest.

"Self-defence mainly, since a wand is not always the best tool for defending yourself against magic resistant foes, such as werewolves, vampires and trolls. Also, not only do I find it relaxing, but a number of journals I have read suggest physical fitness contributes to magical prowess, good health and longevity. It was the reason why ancient Greek wizards trained in physical sports as well magic. Another reason is I've gotten in the habit of going running in the morning and can't do that with the curfew in place." Looking at both staff members Harry finished, "If I am going to have to put up with a rather poor DADA teacher, I should at least be allowed to practice my archery."

That's reasonable," Professor Flitwick stated.

"I think I can work something out," the Headmaster agreed.

"Good, if those things can be arranged, you won't have any trouble from me and probably won't hear from me for rest of the year.

"Harry, is there nothing I can do to get you to go to Potions like the rest of the second years?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"No, not until the man grows up and sees I'm not my father. All last year I had to put up with verbal abuse and bullying, due to Snape's childish nature. Why should I put up with it now when I don't have to?"

"Professor Snape, Harry. You must really learn to forgive and forget, life is too short to carry such anger."

He couldn't help himself but to burst out laughing at that statement, "Has Snape grown up and forgave my father? No he hasn't, instead he took it out of me! An orphan who never knew his father! So get your teacher in order, and frankly he's not my teacher, and professor is a title of respect. He doesn't have mine and never will until he grows up, so until that time he will be just Snape to me," he said in daring manner. "Now are we done?"

"You can go" the Headmaster stated soberly.

As soon as Harry left, the Headmaster turned to Professor Flitwick and said, "Keep an eye on him please, and make sure he doesn't abuse the freedom he had been given."

"You know he is right Albus, Harry is nothing like his father beyond their looks. Severus' actions were uncalled for, and Harry is being most generous considering he could send the man to jail," Flitwick responded before following his charge out of the door.

**Harry's Dorm Room**

After finally finishing getting unpacked and setting his dorm room up the way he liked it, Harry walked over to the full body sized mirror he had set up in the corner and said, "Eagle calling Padfoot, Eagle calling Padfoot," all the while wondering if this was one big prank by his godfather.

"This is Padfoot," a voice coming from the mirror said as the mirror reflection became liquid, before showing his godfather. "Everything alright pup?" his godfather asked, obviously concerned since Harry was calling him so soon, while at the same time thinking they really needed to make a better name for it, maybe mirroring?

Shrugging his shoulders, "Yes, nothing too major. The Headmaster just invited me to his office for chat, to try and get me to go to Snape's lessons," he stated.

"Did you tell him where he could stick his beard?"

"Yes, but in bit more diplomatic terms," Harry responded. "In short, I said it was not my problem, and asked why I should put up with the git."

"You shouldn't have to, especially considering you could have Snape's pale ass in jail," Sirius stated.

Ignoring the mental image his godfather had created, "Yeah, but he invited me to his office to talk about burying the hatchet, along with getting me to play nice with Snape and go to Potions class. I believe the Headmaster about burying the hatchet, but I doubt that was his sole reason. The Headmaster must have realized our votes in the Wizengamot will ensure he can pass any bills he wants. Without us he is forced to seek the support of other houses and if I was in his position, I would prefer to deal with one lord instead of a good half dozen like he would need."

"You're right pup, it's something Albus would do, kiss up to you to try and get me in a more cooperative mood," Sirius stated with a frown.

"I thought so, he must also realize the bigger danger you represent, hence the effort to get you under his thumb quickly," Harry stated.

"Danger Pup? I'm no danger to Albus, while I may disagree with him, and I'm not willing to play yes man and just do what he says, I'm hardly a danger," Sirius protested.

"Sirius, think about it for one second. You hold the single most votes in the Wizengamot, and are now the rallying point for neutral factions and lords who may not be pureblood elitist, but don't agree with Dumbledore. Also, lords currently supporting Albus, who were aligned with to him to counter Lucius and his elitist agenda, may actually abandon him in favour of a more natural party. The longer you are a free agent on the political battlefield, the more of a chance you have to gather allies such as Lord Greengrass. You could very well hold the power to decide which way votes go," Harry stated, hoping Sirius would understand.

"Yeah pup, I can see what you mean now. Forgive me being bit slow, it's been a long time since I've had to think about this. I never expected to become Lord Black, I always thought I could be an Auror and then open a joke shop with James and Remus."

"No problem Sirius, just consider it a game where you have to outwit your rivals, and use it as a chance to help reform the ministry."

"You are so much like your mother, you know that?" Sirius said with sad smile.

"Yeah, my Head of House said the same thing."

**End of chapter**


	24. Y2 The Year Begins

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

Rated M For safe, - Unsure yet of the pairings yet, I'll see as the story develops. That said I have couple ideas. I'll see as the story develops, and some of the reviews.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold – The Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 24: The Year Begins**

**Revised and Beta by ****BuckeyeForLife**** on**** 30th December 2012**

Hitting the floor, Harry started doing his normal workout routine even though he couldn't run or practice his archery until everything was sorted out. There was no point in losing house points or getting an unnecessary detention.

After successfully completing his routine and getting himself cleaned up, he headed down to the Great hall to try and have his breakfast in peace before the rest of the students arrived. Sitting at the table, with some light fruit on his plate, he wondered what he would do this year since he had already mastered the second year spells and theory over the previous summer for most of his subjects.

He would just have to learn the third year material instead, even if it took longer due to the spell requirements. It wasn't like it was beyond his abilities; he could already successfully cast around a dozen 3rd year spells. So it was looking like his second year would be mainly self study, which was fine in a way. Classes and homework should prove to be simple, which would let him use his free time to push ahead with his independent studies. Plus he had the advantage of having Tonks as his training partner, along with Penny to help him out, if he got stuck on a spell or two.

His pondering was interrupted with the arrival of the first wave of students, causing him to focus on the chattering of his fellow Ravens. After a while Tracy turned up, whom he greeted as warmly as possible, considering that Tracy was a Slytherin and had begun constructing a frost like persona like Daphne had started in first year.

"Harry," she said warmly, but quietly.

"Tracy, I didn't get chance to see you on the train," he returned in a similar tone, but in a more questioning manner since they had planned to share a compartment the previous day.

"I'll explain later," she responded before continuing quietly so only he could hear her, "Meet at two at the Swan Nest, and tell Padma." Tracey pulled away and headed over to the Slytherin table without giving him a chance to respond. Not that it mattered, there were never any lessons on the first day back so that everyone could adjust to being back and settle in, so it would be easy to make the meeting.

Sometime later, when Padma finally arrived for breakfast he dutifully passed on the message about the upcoming meeting. It occurred to him that they would need to come up with a new code name for their private study area that wouldn't raise eyebrows if accidently over heard.

Now he just had to wait for his Head of House to come around and hand out the timetables, so he could get on with his day. Hopefully he could avoid being paired up with Slytherins for most of his classes. Sure, Daphne and Tracy were fine and so was Blaise to lesser extent, but the rest the of the Slytherin second years were nothing more than an annoyance, especially when Malfoy was causing trouble just for the sake of it.

Just then the Prophet arrived and like he predicted the front page had a large shot of Sirius and him, as well as couple of smaller pictures of rest of the family.

**The Forgotten Lord**

**Songbird Rooms – 2pm**

Sitting in one of the corner arm chairs, Harry thought over the events of the morning, including the increased interest in him that everyone had been showing ever since the Daily Prophet article came out. It pointed out his blood-connection with Sirius through his grandmother who had been a Black before her marriage into the Potter family. The article also came with a rather good picture of his left hand, which clearly displayed the Black family ring upon his finger. The picture itself would enlarge whenever the reader looked at it, leaving no doubt about the extra ring on his finger.

The article went on to point out that the ring itself was different from the standard Black family ring worn by the Tonks family. This supported the notion that he was Sirius's intended heir if Sirius failed to produce a son or daughter. The article's author had also theorized that this is was the reason for Draco and Narcissa being cast out of Black family, since there had been no comment made by either family on the reasoning behind the banishment.

The author suggested the primary reason was to secure the line of succession, which was partly true; Draco had been a threat to Harry. But with Draco banished from the Black family, it was ensured that neither him nor anyone of his bloodline for eight generations could ever inherit the title of Head of the Black family. This left Harry secure in his position as heir unless Sirius had son or daughter. Which was unlikely due to affects Azkaban had on long term in mates, making it nearly impossible for him to have a child. The key word there was nearly, since magic had proven to be unpredictable as well as having a primal will of its own. However, the article failed to mention the fact that Sirius hated Lucius Malfoy with a passion, and wasn't going to give the former Death Eater any chance of getting more power and influence through his wife and son. He wasn't going to take the chance of any Malfoy successfully managing to commit line theft by arranging their deaths or through other means, like Lucius had almost done with Sirius imprisonment.

As Harry thought over the article and his own role in the decline of Malfoy house, he once again came to the conclusion that he may be a target for retaliation in the future, as soon as Lord Malfoy settled his own power base. First however, Lucius had to pay back over a decade's worth of withdraws from the Black account under the pretext of being the acting guardian of the next Black heir, including interest over that time period. There was also the additional penalties for not abiding by the clauses in the marriage contract for Lucius and Narcissa, which required him to assist the Black family in whatever way possible in their time of need. Either way, Malfoy had only a couple of weeks to gather the necessary funds due to the nature of the case. So no matter what the Malfoy family did, they would lose a sizeable amount of their assets soon.

After all, it would be extremely difficult to procure close to twenty-five million galleons in a single month, especially after several of their holdings had already been claimed under the penalty causes. Frankly he doubted the goblins would give the Malfoys a loan and he found the idea of Malfoy manor being repossessed very funny. Harry could just imagine how amusing it would be to host dinner events at the place just so they could invite the Malfoy family to rub it in, something his dear Godfather had been very tempted to do.

However, he had managed to persuade Sirius to take business assets instead, since they were worth more in the long-term and their loss would do more damage to Malfoy. This had been suggested by his account manager and seconded by Dawnberg. Andy had also made a case for it saying, "Anyone can replace a manor if they have the gold in their pocket, but it is much harder to replace successful businesses with or without money." Ultimately there was a good chance it would take a couple generations for the Malfoy family's financial power base to recover from all of the penalties and repayments, which really was a good thing in the end.

He was grateful for Andy taking over mentoring and advising Sirius on such actions. After all, he wasn't nearly knowledgeable enough yet and even if he was, He was busy with his studies at Hogwarts leaving him with little spare time. Harry was much more confident in Sirius's ability to deal with his political responsibilities with Andy there to constantly watching over him. Mainly because Ted and Andy knew fair amount about the ministry politics and law, after all they were lawyers and had to often deal with politics on a day to day basis.

Seeing the door open and Padma walk in he said, "You're early, we still have another five minutes before everyone is supposed to be here."

Another ten minutes passed before everyone was present, "Everyone comfortable?" Harry questioned, which got a round of affirmatives.

Smiling at his friends he said, "It's good to see you all again. Once again Daphne, I'm sorry for cancelling on you this summer, but I think you can understand that I was busying getting everything sorted out for the trial. After that, Sirius didn't really let me out of his sight; he's kind of clingy at the moment." Daphne nodded, accepting the explanation. He also didn't want to mention that Sirius didn't trust the Greengrasses much, since they hadn't declared for the light side in the last war.

"And I guess that was why you couldn't tell me what you were doing," she said rather coldly, making it clear it was more a statement of fact rather than a question.

"Yes, I decided to tell no one. Tonks and her family only found out a couple days beforehand, because I didn't want to ambush them with such a heavy emotional bombshell by not telling them before the trial."

"Well since you ditched me and made me kind of look like a fool in front of my family since I wanted to introduce you, you can give me something to reset the balance. A peace offering of sorts," she said with hint of amusement.

Mentally sighing at having such a manipulative Slytherin for a friend, he wondered how much it was going to cost him to keep her happy. "I wasn't aware we were at war," he said with hint of amusement, "What is you want Daphne?"

"Information."

"Information," he said slowly, wondering what type of information she desired. "Well that's bit broad. You're going to have to be bit more specific," he said, getting a muffled chuckle from Tracy and a minor blush from Daphne, which quickly disappeared.

"Well, Lord Malfoy has several investments of which we are shareholders of and he has recently approached us trying to offload them in a hurry. My father was wondering if this happens to be due to the Blacks calling in their debts," Daphne said.

Immediately seeing where this chat was going Harry answered, "Yes, the debts are being called in; I can't say how much." He didn't particularly like the idea of telling her such sensitive information about his family's dealings. "But the debt is rather large, particularly because it needs to be gathered within a month."

"A rough figure?" the Slytherin asked.

"Will it bring peace between us?"

"Yes, and help gain a favour or two from my father."

"Besides Lord Greengrass, this doesn't leave this room," he said to everyone, getting a series of nods. "Penalty clauses have already been exercised, which was over five million galleons after everything was concluded. But the Malfoy family still has to round up roughly twenty-five million galleons more, plus the interest to repay the withdrawals made by Lucius, which are being treated as loan under the terms of the marriage contract." He watched as his friend's eyes bulged out at the figure.

"Are we even?" Harry asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Good, whilst we on subject of Malfoys, I heard some rumours that Lord Malfoy was going to make a power play this year for control of Hogwarts. I don't know if he will still try now that he's been weakened, but I think you should all be forewarned."

"That's not much to go on, do you know anything else?" Tracy asked.

"Yes, it's meant to involve the Chamber of Secrets."

"The Chamber of Secrets, that's just a legend," the blonde protested.

"Well most legends have some roots in fact," Padma added, literally taking his line from him.

"Anything else?" the Greengrass heiress probed.

"No," he lied, since it wouldn't do to have all the answers and such information so early on in the school year. She didn't look convinced, but left it be. After all, she was one of the few who could tell he was lying due to her own early start in life at learning the mind arts.

"So you would like Tracy and I to keep an eye on Draco for you then?" Daphne asked.

"If you want, but I doubt the jerk will know anything, besides that it is just a rumour and hearsay. After all, why would his father involve him? He can't keep a secret. He literally told the whole Quidditch store that he bought his way onto the Slytherin team, and that buying his way onto the team was fair game. The only reason he didn't get a chance to say more was that his father intervened before he could say anything potentially damaging."

"So Draco is the seeker then," Tracy said. "He's going to be even more unbearable if he actually wins a game."

"Yes, I saw his father order a set of seven brooms at Quality Quidditch Supplies, the new Nimbus 2001."

"I better go and place a bet on Slytherin to win this year," Daphne said, with a soft smile.

"You can, but the odds will be evened up sooner than you think," Harry responded.

"Really, what gives? You're planning something."

"Of course," he said in such a way that implied he was hurt that they would think otherwise. "Within the next month or so, after I have my own house tryouts, the school is going to receive a new set of Quidditch brooms for each house, entrusted to their Head of House. Slytherin won't be the only team with new broomsticks."

"So who do you think will win then?" Daphne asked.

"Personally, I would like the Ravenclaw team to win," he answered, receiving a roll of the eyes from the blonde. "Even more so if I get onto it, but honestly I think the Lions will win again. This is especially true if they get a new set of broomsticks, because they have the most impressive chasers. Combined with the fact they have the most experienced team, with Neville and Katie being their newest players, who each have a year's worth of experience. Whilst the rest of the house teams are replacing quite a few of their players, most importantly their seekers, I say the odds are in Lion's favour. Not to mention, Wood has been their keeper for almost 4 years and is rumoured to be scouted by the Quidditch league. So if you want an assessment on favourites, I have to say Lions."

"Thanks, I may just have to place a bet," Daphne said.

"You're welcome, so why didn't I see you on the train?" he asked.

"Well, Daphne here," Tracy said gesturing with her hand, "Thought we should make our own subtle power play of sorts now that Draco isn't so powerful. As much as we hate to admit, Draco is the unofficial leader of the Slytherin second years and would in time become our default leader as he grew older, if nothing changed. We're trying to replace Pansy, while Blaise is working on unseating Draco. So on the train ride, we were mingling with the other Slytherins to see what kind of support we had and to start on our plan."

"Interesting, if you need a hand or anything let me know. I prefer Blaise over Malfoy any day," Harry said, making his position clear.

"We thought so, and on that note I think we should tell Blaise about this place, and this little group we have since he is going to be working with us, hopefully." Daphne stated. "Plus, by the looks of it my father and mother may be arranging a trial marriage contract between the two of us, and I can't really get away with sneaking off all the time if that happens."

"Ok," he said, keeping his belief that the whole concept of marriage contracts was out dated to himself. He was aware that final magical contracts weren't exchanged until both parties were happy with the deal, and that traditionally there was three stages to the process that would ensure both parties were fully aware and accepting of the contract.

"Now that we all done talking business, I managed to get my parents to pick up some books whilst we were visiting my family in India," Padma said before opening her book bag and handing them each a book wrapped up in gift paper.

**Later that Day**

"Professor Hooch, can I have a moment of you time?" Harry inquired as he watched the flying instructor gather up the old broomsticks.

"Of course Mr Potter, are you joining the Ravenclaw team this year?" she asked, her eyes lighting up with interest.

"Probably, but you'll have to wait and see to know for sure," he said.

"Ah, so Ravenclaws odds have gone up then. I may just have to place a bet in the teacher's pool," she said with a cheeky smile.

"Thank you Madam, but I came here on official Potter-Black household business," Harry responded, taking the comment at face value since she hadn't seen him play and was just assuming he was good due to his father's legacy as a Quidditch star.

"Of course, what is it you wish to discuss?" Professor Hooch asked.

"My godfather Sirius and I were wondering what we would have to do to donate some new broomsticks to the school. We're thinking of supplying a new batch of training brooms, as well as 21 new Nimbus 2001 brooms to help promote the sport and fair play between the teams. We heard over the summer, that the Slytherin Quidditch team received seven new Nimbus broomsticks and that's hardly fair. They will have better odds of winning due to their brooms rather than their talents, hence spoiling the game for everyone else. It also prevents the truly talented Quidditch players from shining," he expressed, watching her eyes light up after hearing his proposal.

"Well that would be most generous, but will be very costly indeed," she said as if he hadn't already done the math.

"I know Madam, but Sirius and I are both shareholders of Nimbus Brooms, so we can gain advertisement for the company from this," he explained, waving his hand to dismiss the point about money. It may be costly, but it would open the doors for them to get Sirius on the Board of Governors a couple years down the line, but he didn't say that of course.

"Oh, well there are two steps. First you can schedule a press conference to donate the training brooms to Hogwarts. I suggest you invite a reporter there to cover the event and write an article for the Daily Prophet. Second, I would also meet with each Head of House to present them with the new brooms for each team under the condition that each player properly maintains the broom, and that it is to be considered school property," she explained, watching as Harry jotted her comments down on his note pad. Professor Hooch then asked, "The question is what do you want in exchange?"

"Nothing out right Madam, it's mainly a P.R. scheme to promote our combined houses, as well as Sirius himself," he explained, which was only part of the truth. With a mixture of innocence and mischief he leaned in closer and said, "On a more personal note, it is to one up Lord Malfoy." Harry then flashed a smile at the former Quidditch star, who was chuckling at his antics and the knowledge that a private house war was unfolding, and her sport was going to benefit from it.

"I see," she said with a bit of a girlish giggle. "Anything else?"

"Not really, unless you enjoy my company that much, then I'm sure I can stay around for bit," he said confidently.

"Cheeky boy."

"Thank you," he said flashing a smile. "Madam, have you heard anything about where the Quidditch World Cup is being hosted next?" Harry decided to ask her at the last minute so he had a source for his knowledge that would allow him to keep his ability to spy on the Headmaster a secret.

"I don't know, I think there are still a couple of weeks yet before the final decision is made. I do know that England is one of the places being considered by the International Quidditch Union along with Iceland, France and China if the rumours are true."

"Who do you think is the favourite?" he probed with the natural curiosity expected of a Ravenclaw student.

"Well, I'm not supposed to say this, but the Headmaster is currently pushing for England to host the event, for whatever reason. So it's pretty certain that it will be England or France if I had to guess, most likely England."

Smiling at the news Harry said, "Thank you, maybe you will be able to join Sirius and I to watch a game if that happens." He was already thinking up different schemes now that he had an additional source of information on the World Cup, as well as the knowledge that Professor Hooch was approachable for gaining information.

Casting a quick tempest charm to check the time, he hurried off to check up on Penny and give her share of the loot to her. His body was on auto pilot as he headed into the school, silently thinking over the chat for any missed signals or messages.

**The Forgotten Lord**

**Daphne Pov**

Daphne walked along the secret passageway, heading to her prearranged meeting with her mother so she could share the profitable news she had gathered from Harry. She wondered if she should share the knowledge about Lucius' plot as well, before deciding to mention it, but state it was only a rumour.

Reaching the end of the passageway, Daphne pulled her hood up to cover her face, so that she wouldn't draw any more attention than necessary. Walking up a set of steps before pushing open the trap door, she found herself in the basement of Honeydukes, just like her mother's instructions had said. Looking around the basement she saw several stacks of chocolate bars, as well as an assortment of other candies and treats securely locked away behind an iron gate. This made it clear the owners knew of the passageway, and overlooked the students' use of it for whatever reason.

Maybe it was just because they gained some extra customers, not that it was her concern or anything. Daphne left the basement and quickly and quietly left Honeydukes and headed for the Three Broomsticks. She kept her head down when she entered the pub and headed straight to the stairs and to the private room her mother told her was booked for their meeting. She knocked on the door before entering to see her mother sitting at a table waiting for her arrival.

"Your late," she said coldly.

"Sorry mother, but I was delayed," Daphne said, not wasting time by explaining that Snape had held her up with demands that she stop spending any more time with Potter, the same as he had done the previous year. After all, her mother hated excuses.

"So did you find out the information?"

"Yes and more," she answered, which made her mother's eyes light up with interest.

"The Malfoy family needs to raise close to 25 million galleons, plus the interest to pay off the Blacks. They already had to pay close to five million in plenty clauses," she said, whilst watching her mother smile at the news. "And this all has to be done within four weeks, of which just over two weeks remain."

"Well, this is good news. I'm sure our family business partners will enjoy having this information," Lady Greengrass said with a rather cold smile. "It's about time Lucius got what was coming to him after throwing his weight around for so long. What else, you said there was more?"

"Yes mother," Daphne said, dipping her head slightly. "It's more a rumour than hard fact, but Mr Potter overheard a possible power play being undertaken by Lord Malfoy. His goal is to take over Hogwarts and replace the Headmaster and somehow the Chamber of Secrets is involved." She enjoyed the look of surprise on her mother's face before it quickly disappeared behind a cold calculating mask.

"Really? Surely Lucius would not be foolish enough to undertake such actions," she said with clear disapproval at the man's reckless actions.

"Like I said, it's just a rumour. Harry himself said he was unsure whether Lord Malfoy would undertake such plot anymore. You've seen the papers though, the Chief Warlock position is the weakest it's been in years due to the events around Sirius Black's imprisonment and the events of last year. Lord Malfoy may feel it was his best chance to remove him, and use his control of Hogwarts as a chance to replace the status and influence he lost recently."

"It's good to see your training has paid off," her mother said proudly.

Smiling at her mother's praise she asked, "So what would you have me do?"

"First, stay close to young Potter. Since the boy knew of this, he clearly has some sources of information. Everything you've said of the boy so far suggests he's capable and cunning, even if he is a Raven. You're descriptions of him suggests he is far more Slytherin than some of your housemates," the elder Greengrass said, with a hint of disapproval. "So sit back, watch him and report any developments. Hopefully this may be our chance to get our old seat back on Board of Governors if we play this right."

"Of course mother," Daphne promised.

"I'll send along anything I find on the Chamber. Is there anything else your father and I should know?"

"The only other things I've heard are nothing but gossip and hearsay. Professor Snape has once again approached me, insisting that Tracy and I end our friendship with Potter on the grounds that the boy is a troublemaker and a bad influence. I plan on ignoring him once again, since his own godson is more of troublemaker than Harry is. Besides it's more of an alliance than a friendship. We're both allies first, friends second and frankly isn't it better being his ally now considering his status? It's certainly better than the Malfoys."

"Indeed, a long term alliance with the Potters would be profitable, especially if he does end up being the next Lord Black as today's paper suggests. If Professor Snape continues to bother you and Tracy, I'll have your father write to him and remind the man that it's none of his concern as long as it doesn't affect your education and grades," her mother said seriously.

"Thank you, with your permission I would like to join Mr Potter in his archery training," she asked, feeling a bit nervous at the request even though it was a good opportunity to stay close to her ally.

"Like I said, as long as it doesn't affect your studies I don't mind. Besides, being trained in archery could be useful someday, at the very least as an interesting hobby. After all, it's not un-lady like like a sword would be," her mother said, shaking her head at the notion.

"Thank you mother."

"Now, you better be heading off before they notice you have disappeared," her mother said, before giving her a hug. "I may not say this often, but you're my daughter and I couldn't be more proud of you."

"Pass along my love to father and Astoria for me," Daphne said, before leaving the rented room.

**The Forgotten Lord**

**A Couple Weeks later**

Walking down the school halls, Harry wondered how long it be before Lord Malfoy's plot started to unfold. After all, they had been back for over two weeks now and nothing had happened to suggest any wickedness was about to occur. The suspense of waiting for something to happen was really killing his nerves.

Frankly, it was getting to the point that he was debating the possibility that Lord Malfoy may have called the scheme off so he could focus on rebuilding his political power. He quickly dismissed that thought because if Lucius was anything like his son, then he would be blindly arrogant and wouldn't believe anything could stop his plot. Also, the same actions which had weakened the Malfoy family over summer had also exposed the Headmaster's own failings, which gave Lucius more of a chance of successfully replacing him.

Harry didn't expect the scheme to actually work, especially considering the Headmaster already knew of it, and was surely working out a counter plan that would probably weaken Malfoy further.

Looking out the window and over the school grounds, Harry wondered what he should do. Was it better to just sit back and watch the events unfold, or take a more aggressive role and risk putting himself in the cross hairs?

Several minutes passed as he looked out over the grounds, weighing the risks versus the rewards of each scenario. He was just a bystander at the moment, watching two opponents face off, but the battlefield also happened to be his current residence. This put him, along with his friends in danger of being caught in the crossfire of their power games.

All of these thoughts were going through his head as he was walking down the corridor, slipping in and out of the secret passages he had discovered in an attempt to avoid the other students.

"Harry," a familiar male voice shouted out, snapping him out of his own internal debate.

"Terry," he said in greeting, wondering what his housemate wanted.

"I was wondering if you fancy going outside and practising some Quidditch?"

Thinking over the proposal, he decided that he could use the distraction and the practice since the tryouts were approaching. "Sure give me ten minutes to get my broom, and I'll see you down at the pitch." A quarter an hour later the pair was finally ready to begin their training. "So what position do you want to train at Terry?"

"Hmm, I'd like to try some seeking since the position is open this year," Terry answered which caused him to raise an eyebrow. It would be interesting if they were both going to try out for the same position, which meant Terry was now the opposition.

"Fine, if you sure, but you know you're going to have a lot of opposition this year," he stated as he headed to the Quidditch store closet to get the snitch, leaving out the fact that he was one of his competitors. When he returned to the field with the snitch, Terry was already warming up by circling around on his broom. He quickly mounted up as a feeling of excitement for the upcoming chase began to course through him.

Drifting in the air with the feeling of autumn air on his face, Harry challenged, "You ready?" Terry gave a sharp nod, causing him to open his hand and release the snitch into the air. Giving the snitch a few moments to disappear, he turned to his rival for the afternoon and said, "First to five catches wins, I hope you can keep up." He then turned skyward and accelerated away.

For the next couple hours they ruthlessly chased the snitch around the pitch, not that Terry was much competition. He beat Terry five catches to none in the first hour, getting progressively faster which each successive catch. It was a bit like a hunter's instinct, as soon as he got the 'scent,' it was just a matter of time. Once he sighted the snitch it was a mixture of flying and trying different stunts and moves to shake off you opponent, which Terry soon grew bored of.

Drifting on his broom, Harry enjoyed the familiar sense of freedom and power of being able to look down on the world below. It felt surprisingly natural just drifting on his broom, like bird would on the air currents, 'Maybe my animagus form is a bird,' he thought. 'Hopefully it's a bird at the top of the food chain like a hawk, eagle, or even an owl,' he pondered whilst drifting along. 'I wouldn't mind a Raven either.'

The more he thought about it, the more he was certain that he had wings. It just fit, suddenly clicking in his mind like a piece of a puzzle falling into place.

Smiling at his success, he wondered what his dogfather would call him when he found out that Harry was possibly a bird animagus. Seeing a flock of owls leaving the grounds to begin their evening hunt made him wonder what it would be like to fly side by side with Serenity. Would the transformation help him bond with her or would she just be like any other owl. Harry sighed at the lack of answers and his own inability to answer all his questions.

Harry finally decided that he needed to find out more about the familiar bond when he noticed that the sun was starting to go down. He was half tempted to keep flying, he wasn't afraid of the dark or falling from his broom, but he did have an astronomy lesson that night. Even if he found the whole subject faulty beyond measure, since it was stuck in the 18th century, he still had to attend the class. By god it was frustrating having to remember and recite incorrect facts about the solar system, just because the magical world was hopelessly out of date. As far as the magical world was concerned Jupiter only had twelve moons, they had yet to discover the other fifty-one that the non-magical world had found. As soon as he could, he planned to drop the subject instead of continuing to learn such outdated information.

At least the teacher herself was reasonable and passionate about the subject, which was improvement over some other teachers. It was getting to the point that he actively wanted to curse their current DADA teacher for his stupidity. However, it was amusing watching Longbottom acting out the roles of different magical beasts. If anything, DADA this year should be changed to drama classes.

**Next Day**

"Harry," a familiar female voice greeted, as she entered through the door of his personal Potions lab.

"Yes, Penny?" he said in rather tired tone, resulting from his late night lesson. At least he had no lessons today now that he was self studying for Potions instead of having to attend a two hour lesson.

"How are you?"

"Reasonable," he replied coldly, whilst measuring out the necessary ingredients for the current potion he was required to brew.

"Harry?"

"Penny?"

"Ok stop, what have I've done to upset you?" she asked.

"Nothing, I'm just trying to focus on measuring out these ingredients," he answered, whist chopping up some deer horn.

"I don't believe you," she accused.

"Seriously, I'm just bit annoyed. Not just at you, but the school as a whole," he replied, before getting the pestle and mortar to crush the horn up into a fine powder.

"Why, what have I done to annoy you?" Penny asked as she sat down on a stool on the opposite side of the lab desk.

Looking up from his work to face her Harry responded, "I understand that you have your own friends and things to do, but I feel that you've been giving me the cold shoulder since we've returned to school," seeing no point in sugar coating things. He also couldn't help noticing a couple of worn textbooks in her bag.

"Oh, I've just been so busy this year getting settled back in and what not. Plus the NEWT level work is turning out to be a killer, I've already used up three quills since we returned," she said showing three worn out quills.

"Tonks seems to manage," he said offhandedly. "And she's in her final year with Prefect duties, NEWT exams, and still finds the time for regular duelling session with me. If anything, our duelling sessions have increased."

"Harry, I'm taking far more studious subjects than Tonks. Besides, duelling with you can count as revision for DADA, Charms and Transfiguration," she scolded.

"Fair point," he said, admitting his error in judgement. "But it would still be nice if you actually talked to me or said hi once in a while, unless last year was just an assignment from Professor Flitwick?" Harry asked.

"No, it started as an assignment, but I really did enjoy our time study together," she confessed.

"Really, so why can't we study together now? What has changed?"

"Nothing! I've just been really busy of late."

"If you say so," he said before reaching for the goat fat.

Several minutes past in silence before Penny asked, "So this is the Potions lab you've been given to study in?"

"Yes, it's rather impressive. It's fully stocked and has some of the best equipment around. I'm told this lab," Harry gestured with a wave of his hand, "Is one out of five originally created for students and apprentices who would be studying for their masteries in Potions under the resident Potion Master. Of course, there is no one studying under Professor Snape, hence the lab was free for my use."

"No need to guess the reason why, seven years is more than enough of his company," Penny said, voicing an opinion similar to his own.

"Indeed, students used to fight for the chance and the prestige of being an apprentice of the Hogwarts Potion Master. Now it's rare to get even a single student studying for their masteries or doing an apprenticeship," he replied whilst looking around the lab, wondering how many past Potion Masters had studied and experimented in the room.

"Do you mind if I use it as well?"

"Depends," he said, curious about what his friend wanted.

"Well, it seems like a means to kill two birds with one stone. One, it gives me a place to study in private and two, it allows me to spend some time with you. Isn't that what you wanted?" she expressed.

"Hmm, I guess. As long as you don't mind potion fumes and boiling cauldrons," he said with a shrug of the shoulders.

"I'll manage, so what are you brewing?" she asked, looking over his ingredients.

"First a basic hair growth potion and then a burn healing potion," Harry answered as he pointed towards the troll fat and goat fat.

"Eh... nice," she said with disgusted expression. "What about that potion over there?" pointing to a slow boiling cauldron, filled with a light purple liquid.

"Farting potion," he said straight face, wondering how Penny would react to it.

"I can't remember that being a part of the second year brewing requirements," she said sternly.

"It's not, it's for a prank of course," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, whilst feeling the finely powdered deer horn.

"I hope that's not for me," she said jokingly, but eyeing him warily.

"Nope, it's for a couple of Snakes," he said, thinking over Daphne's plan to start subtly undermining Pansy's position and self confidence.

"Do I want to know?"

"Nope, but do you want some? I've got plenty to spare if you like." There would be far too much for just pranking Pansy and Draco. "It doesn't do any permanent harm if that's what your worry about, just a couple days of being windy. If you don't want to do it yourself, I can always prank the person for you."

"Hmmm... I'll think about it," Penny said, taking the safe way out.

"My offer stands."

"Thanks."

"By the way, the password to access this room will be Asclepius the Healer," he stated clearly, having no intention of repeating himself.

"After the Greek god?" Penny asked with a thoughtful expression.

Harry smiled in surprise as his friend got it in one, confirming the reason why she was in Ravenclaw. "Indeed, how did you know that?"

"In primary school we had to pick a classical god to represent in a play and one of the boys picked Asclepius," she said with bit of blush.

Putting the powder down, "Let me guess, you picked Athena, patron of Athens," he stated with certainly, already able to picture a mini-Penny dressed up like Athena, with a toy bird on her shoulder.

"Nope, I wanted to but another girl got chosen for it. Want to try again?" she answered, turning the question into a make shift game.

Harry quickly accepted the challenge, even though he knew there were dozens of gods and several who were really the same god with a different name when the Roman Empire conquered the Mediterranean world. "I need a clue, there's just too many. It would take me hours to recite them all and even then I may not know it."

"Greek and was often given deer carcasses as tribute," she said thoughtfully after a of couple minutes pondering his request.

"Artemis, sister to Apollo and the Mistress of the hunt and the wild," he said with certainty.

"That was fast, I thought it would take longer if I mentioned deer rather than a bow," Penny said with a bit of disappointment.

"Apollo just happens to be one my favourite gods from the classics. Anyone can be Zeus, Hades or Aries, but Apollo brings the dawn," he said, feeling a tad foolish at his statement, since it made no sense in hindsight. It was probably because he always associated the coming of a new day with the possibility of escaping his relatives.

"Yeah, that's true. I remember all the boys wanting to be Aries or Zeus. It's funny looking back at it, how much I wanted to be Athena."

"You think anyone can guess the password?" he asked, wanting to move the topic way from his own youthful foolishness of wanting to be Apollo in his daydreams of escaping his terrible childhood. This reminded him to pay a visit to Durleys soon for a little payback.

"I doubt anyone will get it, Greek history isn't exactly covered here is it? Maybe a couple of muggleborns could work it out, but I expect it be safe. My question is why I was able to get in here?"

"Because I haven't yet chosen a password or a door guardian, hence it was unlocked," he said.

"Oh."

"Yeah, by the way, I still have that gold for you. I came to give it to you a couple days ago, but couldn't find you. I didn't want to leave the pouch lying round where it could be stolen, so it's still in my trunk," he offered in explanation.

"Ok, want to give it to me after you're done here?" Penny asked,

"Sure, if you don't mind. I kind of want to get this done."

"That's fine, I don't mind waiting and it gives us a chance to catch up."

"Yeah it does," he said nodding his head.

"So what you been up to since we last talked?"

"Hmm, besides freeing Sirius and getting that all sorted out, I've been training for the seeker position and am hoping I'll be the best at the tryouts. I also have been working on becoming an animagus," he said, picking up the troll fat for the burn potion he had just started, not noticing Penny's shocked expression. "However, I have yet to reach the point of identifying my inner animal, but I know it has wings. I can feel it," smiling as he expressed his delight.

**Later that Evening**

Reaching into his trunk, Harry pulled out a black silk Gringotts money pouch. Feeling the weight of it to make sure it was the right one, he tossed the pouch to Penny who was sitting on the bed watching with interest whilst massaging her feet which looked rather sore. "It should be all there, your half of the jewellery from last year," he said, wondering how his friend would react to finding out the amount of gold she now had.

"How much is there in this thing? I've never had a black pouch before, let alone silk," she said, whilst examining the pouch with interest.

"Well these bags are designed to hold up to five thousand galleons and that one should have 3753 galleons in it," he said, watching her go into shock. After all, the average year's wage was around the seven thousand mark.

"I can't accept this," Penny said after a while, pushing the money pouch away.

"Well it's your half, it's there for you," Harry said, already expecting this. He decided not to mention that the fee's the goblins charged had come out of his share of the gold.

"I don't want charity Harry," she said with stern disapproval.

"It's not charity, it's your share so take it," he said stressing the word share.

"Harry, it's stolen," she said as if that made a point.

"What about that pair of heels you've been wearing about? That's the same thing, so get off your morale high horse," Harry snapped causing her go red. "Besides, this gold will help you out and you know it. It's not blood money; no one has died from this, it was just stuff we pawned off from the lost and found." He glossed over the fact that the caretaker had been hurt, even though it was only a stunning spell, because it would only help her argument.

"Now, do the reasonable thing and take it and use it so you can get the stuff you need. After all, that was what you wanted to talk about during the summer, wasn't it? Why else would you need the grant?" Harry questioned, watching as she went pale at his knowledge.

"How did you know?" she asked uncertainly.

"I put the pieces of the puzzle together. First, after fifth year you are no longer required to attend Hogwarts. Second, I saw you had several college applications half filled out in your hand bag during the summer when we met to have a drink," he said remembering the meeting.

"College is free, Hogwarts isn't and the books you were using earlier were second hand, since they are clearly worn with age. If you had a sister, or another family member that was magical I would have dismissed it, but you don't. Third, your quills are duck feathers, not owl or swan, meaning you bought cheap stationary, which suggests a lack of money," he explained, whilst remembering his own time shopping for quills. "That is also the reason your quills keep breaking. Finally, your shoes are too tight for you and is the reason you are massaging your feet, to relieve the pain and restore blood circulation, plus last year you mention that your family wasn't very well off," he said, pointing at her toes. "And remember, I was in same situation as you not to long ago, only by good fortune am I no longer in that position," Harry finished, remembering his treatment at the Dursleys, having to make do with second hand stuff and feeling worthless.

"You really are a genius, you know that right?" Penny said, looking down at her sore feet, either in shame or acknowledgement of the point.

"Maybe, or I'm just good at noticing things and remembering them," he said softly, sitting down next to her. "Plus I care for my friends, so I notice these things."

"That gold can give you a chance of to succeed and overcome the barriers of being a first-gen if you use it wisely. You think that jewellery will be missed? No it won't. You know that individuals like Lord Malfoy paid off juries, and brought their way out of a life sentences? The ministry works on money and is rotten to the core, so what is three and half thousand if it gives you a chance to making something of yourself."

"So please take it and use it so you can get everything you need, to prove you are the best rather than those pureblood fools who believe they are entitled to everything just because their family has been magical for several centuries," he said, pleading with his friend.

"Nobody was suffered or was killed for this money, it's clean. Just accept your half, you took that risk with me that night so you should have half of the rewards," he said softly, placing the money pouch on her lap.

"Prove to the world that you are just as talented as any pureblood."

**The Midnight Lord**

**A couple of days later (Sunday)**

Excitement filled the Great Hall; Ravenclaw table was a hive of activity as the whole house was wondering who their new Quidditch players would be. The current squad members were watching with interest, trying to decide who looked the most promising. Harry just sat back and ate his breakfast calmly, using his budding occlumency skills to keep him calm and collected.

"Are you nervous Harry?" Padma questioned.

"Nope, I feel fine," holding up his hand to show it was still, with no sign of nerves.

"Damn," Terry said, whilst examining his hand. "Are you sure you want to try for the seeker position? You would be far better playing as a chaser you know," the blonde Ravenclaw argued, clearly attempting to get him to change the position he was trying for since Terry had been white washed by him earlier in the week.

"Na, I'll stay put, I've made up my mind. Besides, you've never seen me play as a chaser," causing the other Ravenclaw to redden.

"Are you sure? I heard seeking is rather boring," Terry said desperately, but clearly knowing how weak his argument was.

"Really Terry, why are you trying out for that position then?"

"Cocky much?" Padma said, after watching the banter.

"Confident, not cocky," he corrected. "I have the fastest broom, with Chang's being the closest one to competing with mine. I also trained regularly over the summer and since we've return to the school."

"Harry will be a fine seeker," a dreamy voice added out of nowhere.

Looking at the source of the voice, a blonde first year that he didn't recognise he responded, "Err thank you. Do I know you?" He couldn't remember her name since his 'mental files' on first years were rather limited.

"Luna, Luna Lovegood," she said dreamily.

Flashing a smile, "Nice to meet you and thank you for your vote of confidence," he said going on the charm offensive by habit, now he knew the girl's name. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Padma rolling her eyes, clearly knowing what was going on after being around him for a year.

"You should practise with your bow more," she scolded. "You'll need it if you ever go into the woods, spiders are nasty things after all," she said randomly, before leaving them alone to sit by herself at the end of the table.

"Weird" Padma said, summing up her thoughts on the first year.

"Indeed, she is right though, I need to practise the bow more and spiders are rather nasty," he expressed, getting a smile from his friend.

"You ready Harry?" an excited Tonks asked from behind him, almost making him jump out of his seat in surprise.

"Yeah, ready to rock and roll," he said automatically.

"Rock and roll?" Padma asked, not recognising the expression.

"Mundane saying. Rock is type of style of muggle music, the expression refers to being ready to shake the place up and party," he explained. "And Tonks here just happens to be going a little emo-gothic here," checking out her darker clothes.

"Hey!" Tonks protested

"Emo?" Padma said.

Harry sighed tiredly, it was times like this he hated the isolation between the magical and non-magical worlds. Before he could say anything though, Tonks explained for him.

"Emo describes someone who likes darker clothing, or darker more primal music. Just because I like darker more primal music, does not mean I'm an Emo Harry."

"Whatever, but you do make a cute Emo you know," he said, achieving the desired effect of making Tonks blush, whilst drinking some of the orange juice, enjoying its sour taste.

"Quiet, unless you don't want me to come and watch you," she threatened.

"Empty threat," he said confidently, already knowing how far he could push Tonks.

"Really, are you sure about that?"

"Nope, because if I said I was sure you would walk away on principle because you're women, just to prove me wrong," he said remembering Sirius lessons. "But if I said no, I wasn't sure, you would probably stay out of support, and also because it's part of the whole Puff code," he explained with a smile. "Either way, it's up to you. It's your decision and your time to spend not mine, but I would like the support. It might make all the difference in whether I succeed or not."

"Dam you," she said after thinking for moment, and realizing if she left and he didn't get the seeker spot she would feel guilty and horrible, however staying would mean he was right.

"Love you too," he said playfully, knowing full well he had Tonks in a bind and she would be in the stands as a mascot of sorts.

**Quidditch pitch**

"Now, all of you here are interested in playing for Ravenclaw, so sort yourself out into the position you want to try out for. Seekers on the left and chasers on the right," Roger ordered the group.

Harry stepped to the left as instructed, into the by far larger of the two groups. Examining both groups, he realized that their appeared to be a distinct lack of older students. The oldest one was only a fifth year, with the rest being fourth years down to second years.

Almost immediately he realized why, since Ravenclaw was the house of knowledge, naturally the older students would be more inclined to prepare for their OWLs and NEWTs than play sports.

Of course this worked out to his advantage, since it meant his competition had less experience on average. He would happily accept any advantage he could get.

"Now that you're sorted, chasers take to the air and fly laps until I call you down. If I call you down, it's because you're out," the captain said to the group. "The rest of you will have to wait, so stay quiet."

The next couple hours passed slowly as Roger ran them though flying drills designed to remove the weaker flyers from the pack. He then debated his choices with the returning players on the Quidditch team to get their thoughts. It was clear, at least from his view point, that the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was more like an open forum.

Lazily drifting in the air, Harry was tired of all the pointless exercises. It would be far better to just do some quick one on one competitions and the last man or woman standing got the position. But that didn't happen, instead they went by the drill book, going through each flying drill and exercise.

Looking over at the stands, he could see Penny and Tonks chatting, whilst Padma was talking to Terry and a couple of other second years who had failed to make the cut. The rest of the stands was scattered with different groups watching, some there supporting friends whilst others just wanted to have something different to do for the day rather than being indoors.

Strangely enough, the first year he had met was watching with her haunting blue eyes, standing in the shadow of a stair way.

Off in one of the far corners he could see the Gryffindor captain with one of their chasers, who had a notebook and quill in her hand. She was acting like a secretary, noting down whatever Wood was commenting on.

Finally, it came down to final four.

"Now, one of you four will be our seeker. This is what's going to happen. You are going to be paired off against each other and the first person in each pair to catch the snitch will go up against each other to decide who gets the spot. All clear?" Roger asked, getting a round of nods from the four seeker hopefuls. Harry couldn't help but grin like a madman, which clearly unnerved the 3rd year he was put up against.

"Ready?" Roger asked.

"Go!" he shouted while releasing the snitch. The following chase was short and very one sided, as soon as Harry had locked onto the snitch he closed the distance relentlessly, like a wolf chasing down a deer. Each time the snitch changed directions he was immediately behind it again. It was all over in less than 3 minutes.

The next pair of contenders took almost twenty minutes before Cho Chang successfully caught the snitch. She just barely succeeded though, since the fourth year girl she was up against seemed to be willing to knock her off her broom if necessary.

"Five minute break, so Chang can get her breath," Roger said, causing him to mentally sigh, he was in the zone and didn't want to waste time sitting about. After the last two chases, the stands were packed and everyone was waiting impatiently with a restless energy.

Eyeing Cho he knew he had the advantage, both due to his broom and his own physical fitness and energy levels. He was certain that he would beat her. The odds were in his favour.

And he was right. The chase lasted just under ten minutes as soon as the snitch was located. He had Chang's number even though the snitch started closer to the Asian girl, the speed and daring as he nosedived after the snitch towards the ground, barely pulling up meters from ground at full speed, made the difference in catching the snitch.

"It's not fair, I should be seeker. He only won because he had a faster broom," Chang protested to Roger.

"Are you going to use that same excuse then when you lose to Longbottom or Malfoy? Both of them have Nimbus 2001's, same as me, so you'll still be at the same disadvantage," he said to Chang, but the statement was more for Roger's benefit. "If you want to win, I'm your best choice. Plus I won fair and square and frankly I don't bitch about stuff."

"He's right," Roger said, before turning to the tearful third year. "Sorry Chang, I have to think about what is best for team, even if our families do business."

"Roger, she could always be a reserve player for the position, in case I'm ever injured and can't compete," he answered throwing the girl a bone, hoping she wouldn't break down in the middle of the pitch, blaming him for her loss. After all, he had enough concerns to worry about, rather than having to concern himself with a revengeful girl.

"Good point, let me think about," Roger said, taking the offered way out.

**End of chapter**

**Author's notes**: first and foremost, I wanted to do bit on his animagus form, hence the discovery of wings. Of course this doesn't tell you what his form is, but I like teasing you =)

I also wanted to do bit on how Harry's influence is expanding, though his own schemes of gaining favours, and charming others. As well, as his scheming with Daphne and Tracy, who have their own motives and goals. In addition I also wanted to change the Greengrass family up a bit, by making Lady Greengrass a stronger character, rather than a flower that other stories have made her out to be. And sorry folks, Daphne is in marriage contract, or at least in the start of one.

I wanted to add bit of Harry/Penny interaction since it's been lacking in favour of Tonks. I hope you like Luna's short part and Chang being a rather bad loses... but don't worry, Chang will get her chance to seek.

Plus I introduce Terry and Blaise, who will be taking a more active part in the story.


	25. Y2 Chasing Dreams

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure Let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note: **First of all **Happy New Year** to all my readers, thank you for your support and feedback, I think the most active reviewer is **Coldblue, **I would also like to pay tribute to my **Betas** for helping me get this far. I hope with you assistance I can make this story truly great.

So thank you for your help and support.

On this note, I currently have a massive load of chapters in the middle of the story, like 13 chapters what need to be revised and beta, If anyone of you feel like leaning a hand to do a chapter or two, I'll be most grateful. This way I can focus on moving the story forward. And it helps my overworked Betas...

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 25: Chasing Dreams**

**Posted 7****th**** Jan 2013**

**Revised and Betad by ****slicerness**

The first month back had been rather uneventful for the most part, and he had finally begun to relax since there, so far, had been no signs of Lord Malfoy plot. Still, there was plenty of time left, the school year had barely started.

He was walking around the grounds, enjoying the chance to enjoy the good weather and be able to walk outside before Autumn changed into Winter forcing him indoors.

Hearing the sound of voices, he turned to find the Gryffindor Quidditch team training, getting ready for their first game. Debating whether he could get close enough to watch so he could gather any insight into their style of play, he quickly dismissed the idea, since there was no way he get across the grounds without being spotted by one of the players.

He made a mental note in his codex to check when the Quidditch pitch was next booked before carrying on with his walk around the grounds. However his walk was interrupted then he heard another group of students off in the distance heading down to pitch.

Watching the group as they closed marched towards the lions he could make out green robes of Slytherin team. He could easily predict what was about to unfold, since the two Quidditch teams rivalry was legendary in its own right. Even before you added Neville and Malfoy to the equation, who themselves were quickly becoming legends.

He decided to move close, using the distraction the Slytherin team would provide to get into spot where he could observer the players. He could use some entertainment since the day had been rather boring so far. Both of the boys seemed to be in constant contest to try to outdo each other, it was almost worthily of a TV drama. He quickly moved into the stands now that attention was diverted.

Reaching the top of the staircase he carefully placed himself in the shadow of the staircase, allowing himself to watch the unfolding drama without being spotted by either side. Smirking from his advantage point, it was like having box seats for a premier game. He threw up an Eavesdropping Charm, allowing him to hear what was going on down below. _'Mental note, thank Daphne for teaching me that charm.'_

Much amusement was had by the raven haired boy as the insults started to fly between the squads before Flint finally pulled out a piece of paper. It wasn't too long before he could hear several of moans and groans coming from the Gryffindor players culminating in the Gryffindor Captain, Oliver Wood, explaining the note was from Professor Snape giving Slytherin team permission to train, under the excuse of having a new seeker... Draco.

'_Sneaky bastard,'_ He thought, before suddenly zoning back in on the action as he saw the first wands being drawn after a remark he missed.

The next thing that happened was a full blown seven-on-seven skirmish before his very eyes. He began focusing his mind and magic on recording the memory in detail. He didn't pay much attention to individual fights, more concerned about getting as much detail to memory. Later, he could review the memory and watch individual duels, but for now he just wanted to capture everything.

However, he was more than willing to admit he wanted to watch Longbottom and Draco the most since they were in his year. Plus he wanted to see how advanced Neville's training really was, after the Charms Master's remarks about his advanced tutoring before school.

Longbottom quickly overpowered Draco, catching the Slytherin Seeker off guard with surprisingly fast Stunning Charm. The outcome was kind of expected considering he had already receiving training in duelling. Longbottom then turned his attention towards his teammates battles and helped where he could.

It was surprising that Draco hadn't received any instruction from his parents, or his godfather.

Harry was also amused to note that no one attempted to revive Draco. As the two teams faced off, with Gryffindor working more as a team and Slytherin acting more as individuals duellers. Despite the superior Gryffindor tactics the fight was rather evenly matched, even with Slytherin being one man down. However they had the advantage of most of their players being in their NEWT years, with Wood being the only NEWT student on Gryffindor's side.

Watching the spells fly backwards and forwards, quite a few of which he couldn't recognize, but most of spells appeared to be more about disarming and disabling than harming, based off the regular flashes of orange and red impacting shields. The Twins were surprisingly effective with their combo style fighting, and their usage of pranks spells and jinxs were used to devastating effect as one of their opponent got hit with slug vomiting hex and a laughing jinx at same time.

'_Unlucky bugger'_ He thought with a wince, watching the guy try to cancel the dual ailment, but failing to due to effects of the spells. His suffering only ended when one of the Slytherin Beaters fired a finite spell, cancelling them. In return the Beater was hit by a Hair Growth Jinx for his efforts, blinding him to next barrage of spells from the twins.

As the five minute mark approached neither side appeared willing to back down. He really was attempted to cast his own series of stunners and disarming charms into mix to help break the dead lock into Gryffindor's favour. Since Slytherin were clearly gaining the advantage from having older players despite being two men down, he felt it was only right.

His wand halted as he began deciding whether he could get away with breaking a couple of the Slytherin team's broomsticks without being noticed by either side. After weighing the odds he decided not too; there was just too much risk. Besides, the other three Houses would have new brooms as well, removing Slytherin's advantage in the upcoming matches anyways.

Turning his attention back to Neville he noticed the boy was panting heavily from exhaustion, whether from magical or physical effects, before he was in turn hit by a Banishing Charm after his attempted shield failed to hold. _'Trained and powerful, but lacks endurance.'_ He surmised.

By the ten minute mark it was clear that Slytherin had the advantage, and the Lions were willing to call it quits before they lost out right. It was now four on five fight in the snakes favour since two of the three Gryffindor chasers had fallen alongside Neville.

He couldn't tell which ones from his position, but he was sure of one them was Katie. As the teams separated he finally saw one of Slytherin chasers get around to awakening their fallen Seeker, who clearly wanted to carry on the fight while the rest of team clearly wanted to sit down. From his advantage point, he just quietly watched, renewing the eavesdropping charm as it started to fizzle out.

"Interesting fight." Someone behind him said.

Recognizing the voice as Daphne's he didn't even bother turning around. "Indeed, the twins were devastating, I actually felt sorry for guy who got hit by the slug vomiting hex and laughing jink at same time." He commented offhandedly.

"I missed that part." She admitted, moving up to stand next to him. "See anything important?"

"Not yet, but learned a bit more of Longbottom's abilities. Draco was dispatched within two spells before he could even cast a shield spell. Neville is powerful, but lacks endurance, he tired very fast." He noted, giving her a summary of the fight.

"Always good to know." She demurred before staring down at Draco. "I'll spread the story of how fast Draco got dispatched, I'm sure by end of week the whole school will know what happened."

Grinning at Daphne statement, looking at her for the first time since she spoke he sent her a grin, "Well, I'll leave it in your capable hands." Which gained him a small smile. "So what brings you out here? I doubt it's to watch the Slytherin team."

Smiling at him sweetly, she replied innocently, "Why wouldn't I? I'm all for supporting my House team. The question is why are you here? Spying on my team?"

"You know why I'm here. Scouting out my competition." He scoffed, waving his hand down at Draco. "As lightly as I can use that term..."

"Besides, you would do the same in my position, knowledge is power after all." He said to the heiress, "Is Pansy still having indigestion problems? After all, bad gas is to be expected when you have a poor diet."

"Well I'm grateful I share my room with Tracy." Daphne admitted.

"Lucky, I wonder how long until the issue is resolved?"

"A couple more days, any more and people will start to suspect some type of prank was involved." She said with mock innocence. "I don't purpose that you happen to know anything for ones skin? She's awfully pale."

"I'm sure I can find something." He said with a grin, "You got anything worked out for the apes?"

"No, I don't see the need for it."

"Alright." He replied, not really wanting to get involved in the Slytherin power struggle any more than was necessary. "Maybe the cat clubs should receive some of their own medicine?" He suggested, referring to the second year Gryffindors.

"Perhaps."

"So what was it you wanted to discuss?" He inquired, moving away from the door because he seriously doubted it was Pansy's gassy condition.

"Oh nothing major, just wondering when whatever scheme you're cooking up recently is going happen." Daphne asked while looking out the door. "After all, in last couple weeks you have regularly met with all three heads of houses, and Madam Hooch, so obviously it's something to do with Quidditch."

"Been spying on me then have you?" He said playfully, showing no concern, but was actually a bit alarmed that she had been monitoring him so closely.

"No, but Draco is." She clarified, looking down onto the field. "He's got a couple other students following you, I know he'd try to bully Tracy too but he got a stinging hex for his trouble, from both of us, last time he tried. Blaise made some comments that Draco was stalking you, which seemed to dampen his enthusiasm."

"Well, that's interesting... and bit disturbing." He said slowly, wondering if Snape or the boy's father had set him the task, "And for the record, I prefer girls, at least as far as I can tell for being 12 years old." trying to lighten the conversation.

"Good to know, otherwise I think half the girls in our year would be disappointed, I think Hannah has a crush on you by the way."

"Abbot? Susan's friend?" He asked, remembering the sly blonde at Susan's birthday party.

"Know any other Hannah's?" She replied, in her 'you're being stupid' tone.

"No." he admitted, unless she was referring to couple mundane ones from his primary school. "Not attending Hogwarts at least."

"You also might want to know I saw Chang following you as well, but I don't think it has anything to do with Draco, he's too arrogant and cocky to believe he would need anyone else, especially someone not Slytherin." She expressed, confirming what their shared opinion of the boy was.

"So I have two stalkers then, just what I needed..." He grumbled, privately wondering what their games were.

"At least one is a girl." Daphne offered.

"There is that. It won't be too difficult to avoid them I suppose, eventually they'll grow bored." He commented before turning to watch the Slytherin team run drills, his mind mulling over the problem.

The pair of them silently watched the pitch, comfortable in their silence as they both schemed and plotted, before Daphne broke the silence as Draco unleashed the snitch. "Which one are you more concerned about?"

"Chang." He answered after a moment of considering their motives. "I can guess Draco is acting on the behalf of his Father, due to the events of this summer. After all, I took a title from him, a title he believed would have been his come Sirius' death. Then I'm also the one responsible for his family losing quite a bit of its influence. If I was him, I would have an axe to grind. There's also that agreement with Professor Snape, making a rather large fool of him in front of other Head of Houses, and the goblins. So Draco probably has been encouraged by his father and godfather to cause me some grief, just to cause problems and make my life more difficult. Notice how Snape's been lashing out at Ravenclaws in Potions far more this year?" He pointed out casually, like he was discussing the weather for the day.

"Chang? Chang I can guess is after me because I beat her at Quidditch, I just don't know what she wants to achieve beyond seeker position, or her methods, she's a random element."

"And Draco isn't?" his Slytherin friend probed.

"No, his power has always been his name and more importantly his father influence. Both of which means he needs to be more carefully who he starts fights with now. But I doubt he'll consider that, since he's been brought up on the belief that he's at the 'top of the tree'. He has to be shaken a bit before he accepts that he isn't. Snape is currently in disgrace with the other professors, and can't really touch me directly, making that advantage moot. I just have to watch my back for any ambushes in the corridors. As we've just seen, Draco isn't much of a fighter, so he'll fight dirty."

"You make it sound so normal, as if it was a day to day event." Daphne stated.

"I've always had to watch my back." He said, his eyes roaming the pitch, spotting and tracking the snitch it, wondering how long it would take for Draco to locate it.

"I suggest then you do better job, I managed to sneak up on you, Mr I Watch My Back." she said seriously, before smiling a smile that seemed to promise discomfort. "Next time I manage to sneak up on you I'll jinx you for letting your guard down. I'll tell Tracy to do the same."

"Is that really necessary? I was distracted by the entertainment on the pitch," Referring to the fight. Not really wanting to go around school for the foreseeable future watching his back from both Daphne and Tracy.

"Tell that to an assassin." She countered.

"Maybe I will..." He stated before seeing the snitch zipping towards him. "Whilst I remember, you and Tracy may want to mention to Professor Snape, you are both my allies and friends next time you see our beloved potions master," causing her to cock an eyebrow at the statement, before he offered an explanation. "Since under the magical contract he blindly signed, he can't use mind arts on you, if that is the case." He explained before snatching the Snitch as it zoomed by the door on impulse. Feeling the Snitch stiffen in his hand, the magic powering it's wings deactivate in his hand as he did so.

"Merlin! Its good thing I change my bet."

Opening his hand to examine the golden snitch he asked, "So what are the odd then?" Whilst examining the Snitch in his hand. Looking at the date encased on it _1958_, the realization hit him, his father had chased and caught this very Snitch during his own time at Hogwarts.

"Well, I have 10-1 on Ravenclaw winning every match. Slytherin is favourite at the moment, with 1-1 odds, with Gryffindor being 3-1 and the Puffs at 5-1." Daphne said, rattling off the odds.

"That bad huh?" He asked, looking over his shoulder her direction, but not getting an answer.

He turned back to watch the pitch as the Chasers rush past, debating whether he should keep it or not, before deciding to do so. It's not like he was stealing, he was simply considering it payment for all the training brooms and Quidditch gear from him and his uncle Hogwarts was about to receive.

Coming up with a makeshift plan he decided to hold onto the snitch until the Quidditch training session had ended, since it would help sabotage and undermine Draco's confidence if he didn't find the snitch. As well as the Slytherin team as whole, if their Seeker went the whole session without catching it. He grinned widely at the idea, as well the chance to rattle his future opposition.

"I know that smile." Daphne said with her own smirk.

"You know me too well." He shot back, playing with the Snitch in his hand.

"Can I have a look?"

"Sure, just don't reactive it." He instructed, handing over the snitch, "I want to hold onto it until Slytherin team decides to call it quits and summons it back."

"Poor Draco," She mocked as she played with the Snitch. "I'll be sure to let the whole Common Room know he failed to catch a simple Snitch as well."

"Trying to get him killed then?" He said off handily, already knowing how serious wizards took their Quidditch, having already received several threats and promises of pain if he messed up.

She answered with a feral smirk, so Harry moved on. "By the way, thanks for teaching me that Eavesdropping Charm, it was most useful." He said, his codex, flashing a reminder message.

**Great Hall **

Looking around the Great Hall to see if he could spot anyone to hang out with, he ended up spotting only a few possibilities, Tonks being the most appealing.

Heading over to the table, ignoring some of the curious looks he was getting, he slipped in next to his cousin, "Hey Tonks, you all right?" He asked, noticing the normally perky and full of life girl seemed almost deflated.

"I'm fine Harry." His cousin succinctly replied.

Grabbing a potato and splitting it down the centre with a knife he pressed, "Well, you don't seem fine. You seem pretty not-fine to me in fact," simultaneously as he sprinkled some shredded cheese from another bowl over his potato.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see other Puffs watching and listing to the unfolding exchange between the two of them. He was half attempted to tell them to go back to their own business, rather than eavesdropping on them, but felt it was a little hypocritical considering what he'd spent the last hour doing.

"I'm _fine_ Harry." She repeated, but it felt forced. Plus he was picking up a negative vibe from his cousin.

"If you say so, but I don't buy it." He stated before taking a bite of his food. Not really paying much attention to the taste, preferring to keep Tonks at the centre of attention. "And don't brother denying it, you know I can tell." Reminding his cousin of one of the by-products of learning mind arts.

A couple minutes passed without comment, and the rest of the table seemed to lose interest in the conversation before he said to his cousin, "Two Dragons walked into a bar, the first dragon says, 'Damn, its hot in here', and the second one replies to the first, 'shut your mouth then'." Grinning slightly at his rubbish joke, getting a flicker of amusement from his cousin.

"Harry that was terrible."

"Yeah I know, but I can't tell sex jokes with all the innocent first years around, so I have to use Sirius' poor jokes instead." He ignored the strange looks and focused on the grin from his cousin, who knew full well what he was saying after being exposed to them so much.

"So are you Harry," She scolded playfully, before seeing a means to turn it back on her playfully.

"Really, He said with mock innocent, "But you spoiled me so much last year." Fighting back the grin as he heard some coughs coming from some of the older, more dirty minded students.

"Besides, what was that position again Tonks? Doggy something?" He said, faking innocence and naivety while getting his cousin to blush red at his statement, getting even more coughs, before hearing a meaty slap.

Finding the source was one of older puffs; a girl slapping the boy next to her on his back, Tonks spoke up, "Paul, you really need to slow down when you're eating. What are you, a first year? Chew your food." She scolded the older boy.

Harry smiled at her mischievously at the chaos he had created between the Puffs, he looked back at his cousin with amusement dancing in his eyes. With a voice full of fake innocent he said, "Did I say something wrong?" Before picking up a plate of sausages, "Want one?"

"Evil!" She hissed under her breath.

"Not my fault all you Puffs are dirty minded." He said offhandedly as he snagged a piece of fruit.

**Sometime Later**

"That was evil, you know that?" Tonks growled as they walked down the corridor, heading to their normal training room. "God knows what the rumour mill is going to say, let alone the teachers!"

"Meh, I wouldn't worry about the rumour mill too much, no one will believe it. Besides, if any of the teachers ask, or anyone else for that matter, you can say you gave me the birds and bees talk last year, since you didn't know if my guardians had, and you were doing the responsible thing as my cousin. After all, magical puberty is different from mundane puberty, and can happen earlier in some cases. You were just being responsible Adult." He offered in explanation.

"Sounds workable, thanks for that." Tonks sighed in relief.

"I'm grateful; you know that." He offered, "Can you imagine it, if I'd had to listen to my old magical guardian explain about that? Listening to the Headmaster talking about sex? What is he, 150 or something? Or worse, what if he had Professor Snape tell me instead? I'd be permanently scarred from that horrible experience!" He exclaimed, faking horror, getting a chuckle from his cousin for his efforts. "I doubt I could ever look at a girl again!"

"Yea, point taken, just don't do that again, okay?" She said seriously.

"I try to help where I can." Not agreeing to her threat, "Do you know what else is funny?"

"Is this another bad joke? Or prank? If so, I'll skip it thank you."

"Both, but not at your expense this time." He placated as he opened the door to their regular training room. "What do you get that wears green and can't catch a Snitch... the Slytherin Seeker!" He crowed before explaining the events of the afternoon.

"I was down at the pitch, checking out the competition, you know, recon. The whole idea of know your enemy." He offered, getting a nod, "Well, after seeing Slytherin drive the Lions from pitch using a note from Snape under the excuse of having to train their new seeker. I decided to stay behind in the shadows to watch. Frankly I wasn't impressed. With Troy gone their Chasers are nothing, their whole game plan is based on having faster brooms now, not that _that_ will matter soon."

"So when does Sirius bring the new brooms?" She asked.

"Hmm, next week sometime, either Monday or Tuesday, but it could be Wednesday." He offered with shrugged, since it depended on getting Rita to report the event. "So when the Snitch just happens to come near me, I decide to grab it. After all, Draco can't train if he doesn't have a Snitch to catch."

"Well aren't you the rogue today!" Tonks congratulated him, finally smiling for the first time since dinner.

"No, I'm a _dashing_ rogue today, and every day besides, Mondays." He corrected, getting a giggle.

"Fine, you're a dashing rogue, but why not Mondays?"

"Everyone hates Mondays, it's the first day of the school week, and I have to put up with Professor Lockhart first thing." He grumbled.

"Fair point, at least it's not Snape, so what do you fancy working on today?"

"Whatever you want Tonks, what do you fancy doing?"

"Do you mind if we worked on some dodging?"

"I don't mind, but can we wait to the end? We just had dinner..."

"Good point."

**Tuesday Evening**

"Rita, is everything set for tomorrow?" He inquired, looking into the charmed mirror.

"Yes, my lord. We should be arriving tomorrow lunch time."

"Good, I'll be at the Entrance Hall to meet you. Act naturally as possible, I don't want to raise any suspicion that we are in regular contact with each other, nor that you work for me." He instructed, seeing Rita nod. "You said a couple days ago you were having problems getting the editor to assign you to this story, how did you manage to persuade him in the end?" He wondered, recalling the earlier conversation on Friday night.

"I just told him that since I already had a good prior business relationship with Sirius Black that it made the most sense that I should cover the story rather than Mr. Root... I also just happened to use my womanly powers of persuasion to make the point." The reporter said, clearly not ashamed at her actions.

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

"Well, since that's been settled, anything else I should know?" He asked, wondering if his reporter had managed to find out anything of important.

"Not really, besides the new Minister taken to courting the chief editor here at the Prophet. Not really surprising really, the last couple of Ministers have all done the same." She offered with a shrug of her shoulders, "But I do like the gift, I received."

"Since that's everything for this evening, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, my lord,"

"Rita." He said suddenly, catching Rita's attention, "Wear one of the outfits I picked out for you tomorrow."

"My lord, is that really necessary? Wouldn't I look more normal if I just wore my standard robes, rather than dressing up?"

"Rita," He scolded forcefully, "my decision is final. You're representing me and my family, so you will dress the part." He lectured before smiling evilly, "I can always ban you from wearing any clothes. You know if I order it your magic would be forced to carry it out." Seeing the paling reporter nod at his remark, knowing full well that he could just do that if he desired, and would do it to prove the point, he wrapped up the conversation. "See you tomorrow Rita, sleep well." Before deactivating his mirror.

**Inside the Entrance Hall**

Waiting by the front doors of the Great Hall, looking down the path for the first sign of his Godfather, Harry couldn't help but feel excited. Another one of his plans was coming together nicely, by end of the hour he was sure that he'd be at the top of the social tree. As well as a confirmed favourite amongst the Head of Houses, expect Slytherin, but that was never going to happen. He would be fooling himself he ever thought Professor Snape would suddenly like him.

At least the Potions Master had backed off since they'd returned for new school year, not that the man could do anything with the current magical contract in place. Instead the Slytherin Head seemed to turn more of a blind eye to his own godson's activities and taken his venom out on the remaining Ravenclaws.

"Oh well." He said aloud, it wasn't his problem. And frankly the other Ravenclaws, if they were half as smart as they claimed to be, should be able to find their own solution. After all, he did!

Time continued to pass as he watched the day go on by. Hearing the '_pop_' sound, before seeing a group of individuals appear at the front gate, heading up the path to the school itself. _'So the fun begins.'_ He thought cheerfully, whilst slipping into character.

"Hey Pup!" His godfather greeted warmly, pulling him into a hug as he attempted to mess up his hair further; failing to make it any more windswept than it already looked. "Grats, I heard you make the Ravenclaw team."

"Thank you, the competition was formidable, and it was a pretty close call," He reported, playing the role of humble student. In truth, the tryout had been rather easy as soon as he was allowed to Seek, rather than doing pointless drills. "Are you going to introduce me to these charming people?" Harry asked, gesturing towards to reporters, noticing Rita was wearing the light blue outfit he'd chosen while shopping.

"Ah, where are my manners, this lovely lady is Miss Skeeter. Miss Skeeter was the journalist from the_ Prophet_ that did those excellent articles about the miscarriage of justice that occurred to me. I swear, she could've had old Barty's head with the trouble she stirred up." He announced, smiling fondly at the reporter. "And these two gentlemen are Mr Smith," He gestured to man with a camera, "And Mr Jones, from Quidditch sports magazine." Sirius explained, more for the gathering on lookers rather than his own, since he'd suggested the reporters.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, I thought I recognized you from the trial." Harry said in greeting before giving a short kiss to the knuckles, clearly surprisingly Rita. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones." He said shaking their hands.

"Black, what are you doing here?" The resident Potions Master spat as he appeared from the Great Hall, clearly investigating the disturbance and the gathering crowd.

Shooting Sirius a look that said, 'don't take the bait' before he could do anything, Harry relaxed as he saw Sirius give a begrudging nod.

"Ah, it's good to see you again Severus, the years appear to have been kind to you, unlike myself. Oh well, how have you been?" His godfather greeted, like he was meeting an old friend.

"What are you doing here?" Snape demanded coldly, ignoring Sirius' warm behaviour.

"Ah, I'm here on official business. After all, I'm a head of house now and everything, hence I need to be responsible and everything. I'm sure you understand, you yourself are a respectable gentlemen now, a world class Potions Master, and a Hogwarts Professor, how very responsible of you. But if you wait for couple minutes I'll tell you what my business is here. After that, we can catch up my old friend, over a butternut beer, what do you say? I'll buy."

Watching the exchange, he was almost cracking up with laughter; he could see Snape would have preferred drinking his own blood than anything Sirius offered.

"I'll decline." Snape growled, barely civil, realizing Sirius game as Rita's quill moved rapidly.

"Lord Black." The deputy Headmistress greeted, clearly concerned about the old foes, facing off against each other.

"Minerva, how good to see you again!" Sirius greeted with real affection, pulling the stern women into hug, getting laughter from the crowd at the older woman being lifted off her feet.

"Sirius Orion Black! Put me down this once or I'll transfigured you into a mouse!" She threaten, getting even more laughter from the gather students.

"Nice to see you too." Sirius smiled happily as he lowered the stern women before turning to the students, "She's been threatening to do that to me since my first year."

Intervening before things went too far off script Harry advised, "Maybe we should get on with the announcements, since lunch will be ending soon?" He got a suspicious look from the Potions Master, clearly sensing something was afoot.

"Thanks Pup, shall we move along Minerva? Rather than keeping the students waiting in expense?"

"Mr Black, while I'm teaching I would prefer you to address me Professor Mcgonagall." She ordered, trying to save some of her reputation amongst the students.

"Of course." His dogfather said, grinning like a madman the whole time.

Entering the Great Hall with the reporters in tow, "Students, Students, please quiet down for a moment, I'm sure you must all interested." The deputy headmistress announced, "Twins, behave yourself, I won't have you embarrassing Gryffindor in front of our guests." She stalked the tables, "Ron Weasley, chew with your mouth closed." She scolded, eyeing up any of her lions for any sign of embarrassment. "10 points from Gryffindor due to bad table manners." She said before Ron could come back with resort, preventing the table from being sprayed with food. Frankly that silenced the entire Hall extremely, making it clear the Deputy Headmistress wasn't messing about!

All too soon the Great Hall was silent as other Head of Houses joined in, quieting their own respective Houses. "Good, now that we have you attention - Ron Weasley, stop eating for one minute and listen, or I'll have you in detention for the rest of the month with Professor Snape!" McGonagall snapped, making Professor Snape's head snap around, his eyes locking on Ron's, a gaze that seemed to promise suffering.

Ron just gulped, clearly not waiting to spend the next couple weeks washing cauldrons.

"Lord Black, the floor is yours." She said after being satisfied, before shooting a final warning look at Ron and the twins.

"Thank you, Deputy Headmistress. First of all, it's nice to be back in the school, but many of you are wondering why I am here, and why these reporters are here from the _Prophet_, and Quidditch Magazine." He began, gesturing to the group, getting the students interest at word Quidditch. "Many of you have probably read about my wrongful imprisonment over the summer, however, the one thing that kept me going through that hell hole was the fond memories of his place, playing pranks, charming girls, playing Quidditch." He explained, smiling fondly and studiously ignoring Snape's sneering.

"The war and Azkaban stole many of my dreams, one of them was playing Quidditch professionally as a beater, with my Godson's father. However the war denied us this, denied us the chance to chase our dreams."

"So then I heard this summer that my own godson was following in his father footsteps, I rejoiced, happy that Quidditch was an attractive activity as it had always been, bringing people together, but then we, my Godson and I, heard of one House receiving new top of the line brooms, while the rest of Houses did not. This, in my opinion, is not in any way fair. It's ruins the sanctity of Hogwarts Quidditch; how many dreams will be lost because the other students have better brooms, preventing the real talent from shining through?"

Harry's eyes scanned the crowd, noticing the entire Hall, even the teachers and students that didn't care for Quidditch, were watching and listening with interest. All the while the reporters quills skimmed across their note pads. "Frankly, that's despicable. How can one know who's truly the best, when one team as such an advantage?" Sirius asked them.

"So, me and my godson decided give our own set of brooms to reset the balance between the Houses. Not just to our own houses, but all three Houses that have been wrong footed, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw." Whispering broke out amongst the students as they realized what was about to happen; the Slytherin team started to dread what was about to transpire.

"So I'm incredibly proud to announce that 21 new Nimbus 2001 Quidditch Brooms are on their way as we speak to Hogwarts, and have been entrusted into the care of your Heads of House for the use by your house Quidditch teams!" He shouted over the thunderous applause through the Hall. Gesturing with his hands for them to quieten, he continued, "Yes, I know it's exciting, can't wait to watch the games. Of course, these are not your brooms, they are your Head of House's brooms, and it's up to them to decide whether you will be allowed to use them." He said sternly, "This has led to the **Potter-Black Quidditch Fund creation.**" He declared, getting everyone's attention.

"The purpose of this fund, is to ensure in the future that all four Houses always have similar equal quality brooms, hence this fund will replace these Quidditch brooms every 7 years so all students can try out for a position, not just ones who can afford the best brooms." He said, getting another round of applause. "It's also aimed at encouraging our national Quidditch skills to new heights, so the talented can shine! Yes, yes, thank you!" Sirius laughed at the continued applause, in his element. "I also like to announce this morning; England has been confirmed to be hosting the Quidditch world Cup!"

Harry cast a Sound Dampening Charm on himself so he didn't lose his hearing from the applause as well the cries of excitement that lasted several minutes before the Deputy Headmistress finally recovered herself and fired a Cannon Blast Charm to get everyone's attention. The students were buzzing with excitement and energy, despite the noise made by the Gryffindor Head.

"Thank you, both of you, for your generosity." She said to both of them. "Students, can you give one final a round of applause for both Lord Black and Mr. Potter for such a wonderful gift to the school."

Smiling deviously, Harry finally spoke up, "We're not done yet, Professor. May I take over, Sirius?" His announcement surprised every one of the staff aside from Madam Hooch, who was buzzing in excitement for her own moment.

"Of course Pup." Sirius graciously allowed.

Remembering his speech he had planned in advance for this moment, "Yes, now you may be wondering what I might have to add, and I'll admit it's not as exciting, but it's just as important." Harry announced, capturing their attention once more.

"An additional sub-fund has been created as well for the purpose of maintaining the Quidditch pitch and the training brooms for first years, ensuring future students have safe brooms to use to help them learn how to fly. After all, I remember last year how one of brooms failed in midflight, putting a year mate in the hospital wing. I believe something similar happen this year as well. Hence this fund's purpose is to ensure good, safe brooms for students to learn on. This fund will also be used to make sure the players, both starters and reserves can play with working and top of the line pads, to prevent any future accidents and possible deaths." He explained getting a respectable a round of applause.

"Thank you, I hope this will encourage students who've had bad past experiences with flying to reconsider learning with safer model brooms. After all, I was raised with my Muggle relatives following my parents deaths, but I remember that feeling of joy then I first flew on a broom, the freedom it offered, it was magical. I believe that it's an important part of British magical culture, and should be encourage. Not only because it's great fun, but because it's also a part of our history as witches and wizards. I hope this will encourage first generation Magicals to take learning to fly more serious now that they have proper brooms to learn with, not ones from 1930." He eyed Hermione momentarily, since she'd been big critic of the school brooms. She seemed interested in the offer, and he could safely say she would at least give flying another try.

"Once again, thank you for your time." He finished, allowing the Hall to once again slip into wild applause.

"You did good, pup." Sirius whispered, "Rita looks like she wants to eat you up."

"Thanks." He replied, ignoring the comment about Rita for now. "How did you find out about the Quidditch World Cup?" He inquired, since he hadn't heard about it yet.

"Well, since I got out, I've naturally been catching up with friends from school and my days as an Auror, plus from the Order." he said, the last part in near whisper, "One of them just happens to be a part of the team campaigning for the right to host it. Well, there's a party tonight, I just happen to be her escort for it."

"Ah, so you're back in game already, you old dog!" He said cheerfully, quite happy that his Godfather was starting to reach out more. "When do I meet her? Is she the next Mrs Black?

Sirius chuckled nervously, "Hold your horses! I'm just escorting her, it's not a date or anything." He protested.

Snorting at the older man Harry gave him an amused look, "Yeah, right, I know all about your youth. Now I need to talk to Mrs. Skeeter, I think she wants me to do an interview with her." He explained before looking around the Hall, seeing the reporter already talking with groups of students. Mr. Jones himself was talking with the gathered staff, aside from Snape, who appeared to be missing, no doubt reporting in to the Headmaster.

**Midnight Gold**

Once again reading the Thursday and Friday _Prophet_ articles of the high profile event he'd missed within his own school, He felt awfully bitter over the whole ordeal. Not that it affected his plans, it would just have been a good chance at some good publicity. After several months of being on the negative end of it, after the Professor Quirrell incident and the Lord Black scandal. Even a month later, he was still being hounded by Madam Bones for answers.

Sipping at his tea, he reread the articles over the last couple days events. With Sirius announcing the World Cup to the general public a whole day prior to Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch's planned announcement, he unintentionally stole their moment in the headlines.

At least the school was in a buzzing mood, filled with excitement that the brooms had arrived. However he would have to talk with the staff this weekend, to reminded them to tell him of such dealings with other lords and ladies in the future.

Not that he could blame them for wanting to readdress the balance on the Quidditch field, he just didn't like finding out about such events by fire place calls. After all, he was the Headmaster, and Hogwarts was his dominion, his realm. He didn't like surprises happening inside his home. Plus it was just good practice, to keep the politicians away from the place so they couldn't influence and corrupt young minds, or pulls them into the political games and dramas before they were old enough to understand the consequences of their actions.

At least this one could be worked to his advantage, he would write a letter of thanks to Sirius and Harry, as well give them a token of gratitude for their support of the school. After all, the funds could last for several decades, and that extra money would free up the schools own funds for other projects, such as maintaining the greenhouses. Maybe an expansion project?

How many centuries had it been since the greenhouses had been properly replaced and redeveloped? Plus, hopefully the _Prophet's_ articles would encourage other families to give donations to the school's maintenance. After all, none of them would want to be outclassed by another family.

"Come in, Severus." He called, his wards triggering and confirming someone was at the door, and since he had summoned the Potion's Professor upon his return, it was easy to guess who it would be.

"Albus." The petty man greeted.

"Severus, do you have a copy of the memory of Wednesday?" He asked.

"Here, just as you requested." He replied, throwing the vial to him, which he caught easily with his off hand.

"Thank you, I would like to review it." He stated before putting the vial down on the desk, safely within sight. "Have you heard any more about Lucius' scheme?"

"Yes, the plot is in play. We just have to wait." The younger man replied. "What are we going to do about Potter and Black? You planned to give new brooms yourself next year to readdress the balance."

"Nothing for moment." He stated, cleaning his glasses, "I need to watch for a bit, and try to understand what's going on. Besides, Lucius is a greater concern, and Sirius is just being Sirius, it just means the teams will be even this year. Even if I planned for Gryffindor to lose this year so my gift would have more of an impact. Besides, this year was all about undermining Neville and showing him that public can and will shift rapidly. Harry gaining some line light achieves this as well, and will help deflate Neville's ego and counter his popularity if there's another 'hero' on the board." He explained sagely, not really sure what to do with the Potter boy.

"Besides from the chat I had with Remus, he and Sirius have gone on a holiday for couple of mouths by now, coming back just before the Christmas break. Just to warn you, I'm thinking of inviting Remus to teach here next year, either as DADA teacher or as the Professor for Magical Creatures, both of which will need replacements come next year. Hopefully, he will be able to help cultivate a relationship with Mr. Potter and Sirius. I am not on the best of terms with them at the moment."

"Really Albus, a werewolf for a teacher? What are you thinking?"

"Neville needs to learn that not all creatures such as werewolves are evil. Dangerous yes, but not Evil. Besides, both of us both know Remus is one of the safest werewolves around; he's never bitten a soul. You worry too much, it will make you go grey before your time." He scolded playfully, "The students also need a capable DADA teacher, and Remus is a safe bet, even with his condition he scored a solid **'O' **in the subject, consistently scoring second is his year, only topped by Lily, as well O's in 5 other subjects.

**Elsewhere in the Castle**

Making his way back to the Ravenclaw Common Room, having spent the last 5 hours hidden way in the Potions Lab so he could get some work done without being harassed by the crowds and groups of students wanting to thank him. It made him feel good, yes, but at same time he'd always preferred his own company rather than having large groups of people following him around all time.

It was distracting.

However the groups did provide an effective shield for any pranks, and provided him with an escort around the school protecting him from direct reprisal from the Slytherin Quidditch team. Draco seemed to be out for blood, now far more concerned with him than Longbottom, but he doubted it last long; as soon as Neville did something or said something, he would be forgotten about.

Seeing a flicker of a shadow out of corner of his eye, he shifted into a ready stance as he continued his journey. He felt his primal sixth sense flare up; that gut feeling telling him that something was wrong, something was watching him, stalking him.

Scanning the shadows, unable to find anything amiss, even the tell-tell signs of a disillusionment charm, he carried on. The feeling persisted, and Harry wondered if it was group of Slytherins attempting to ambush him like Daphne had forewarned.

"_**Avada Kedavra!**_"

**Chapter of End**

**Author Note: **Yea I'm evil, another cliff hanger for you guys! Can you guess who it is? I said there would be a plot twist, and here it is. I just thought it be good to spice up the second year by adding another element.

Yeah, I know, bad joke but hey, what can you do... I hope you like the prank he played on Tonks.

**Addition Note:** To the reviewer **Coldblue **who clearly his **my biggest fan**, based on the number reviews he leaves, whilst I am grateful for your support and feedback. You have been making the same suggestions since the start of Harry's second year. I'm fine with suggestions, but you left 6 reviews by yourself on suggestions since chapter 23... Yes I have read them and there are interesting points what I have taken into consideration.

So please, cut back on the suggestions, and **Pm me** them to me instead. Since you posting them on reviews means first anyone could read them, and this leads to possible spoilers if I decide to use them, it also seems I'm stealing your ideas.

I already have my own plans for this year. I've been dropping hints throughout my story to some of your questions.


	26. Y2 Murders Within The Walls

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure Let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note: **this is a long chapter to make up for the cliff hanger =) enjoy.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord -**** Chapter 26: **

**A Murder within the Walls**

**Posted 2nd**** Feb 2013**

**Revised and Betad by slicerness**

"_**Avada Kedavra!**_"

Ducking and rolling instantly, already expecting an attack but caught off guard by the lethal nature of the spell, he watched the radiant green spell smash into the wall, directly behind where he'd been standing seconds earlier.

Hearing another spell, he dived into cover behind a suit of armour. As this new spell, black in colour, impacted where he'd been standing moments earlier he was quite thankful for his reflexes.

His wand was drawn at the ready for a third attack, only to see a fleeing outline of a small man like figure, disappearing into a secret passage way he didn't know about. Since he had no knowledge of the passageway he decided against giving chase, lest he walk into a trap. Plus, now he was in a defensible position of sorts, with a classroom behind him to retreat into if need be. He could always jump out of the window if push came to shove, his logical mind processed as his heart beat raced.

_'Just buy time, the paintings are wake and are getting help, just stay alert.'_ He mentally told himself while the paintings were shouting up and down the corridor doors. Their combined voices echoing, like a great beast, which left little doubt that the whole school would hear of attack within minutes.

"The teachers are coming! The teachers are coming!" Shouted a painting, "Do not panic! Do not panic! The Teachers are coming!" The guard wizard 'portrait' announced, obviously panicking, as he moved madly from painting to painting. Despite almost being killed minutes earlier, he couldn't help but laugh at the portrait antics. It reminded him of the Old Dad's Army episodes he had watched, and listen to from his cupboard doorway, relieving the tension in his muscles.

He moved out from behind the suit of armour, as he'd saw the outline of the all too familiar Deputy Headmistress approaching rapidly, "Mr. Potter, what happen here? And why are the portraits screaming that a Killing Curse as been cast." The Deputy Headmistress demanded in a no nonsense tone.

Composing himself, suppressing the shock he was feeling, he explained, "Madam, someone just tried to kill me." He pointed to the destroyed painting, as well the black spot on the floor, where the stones were cracked and broken from the second spells impact, watching the dawning realization appeared on her features.

**Headmaster's Office**

Sitting on the couch as the staff swarmed around the office directing the Aurors to the crime scene, he sipped on the offered tea. He was sure it was spiked with Calming Draught, since his emotions had settled down far more rapidly than normal, plus he could feel his mind reacting to it too. All of which was rather uncomfortable since he didn't like the idea of being drugged, but it had been offered by his head of house, and he doubted Flitwick would drug him with anything illegal. If it'd been anyone else he would have refused. Plus his ring didn't warm, meaning it wasn't harmful.

"Mr. Potter, you're taking this awfully calmly." The Headmaster said, after finishing talking to one of the Aurors.

"Why wouldn't I? Panicking wouldn't help the situation; emotions can wait until everything is sorted. Not to mention," He paused to meaningfully sip at his tea. "This tea is spiked with Calming Draught." He wanted them aware that he was being given something, since it would make him seem even more in control of himself. Someone who's panicking wouldn't be able to sense or detect the potion.

In truth he was rattled, but he needed to stay calm and collected as he processed the events. "I will admit I did expect someone would try to kill me after I freed Sirius from jail, but I didn't expect it to occur whilst inside Hogwarts. After all, this is meant to be safest place in Britain." He said to listening audience, "The question is who would want to kill me, and has the means to get away with it?"

"A fitting question," The half goblin stated, tapping his chin. "Who has the means and the motive to try such an attack, in middle of a school corridor of all places?" His Head of House asked the room from where he was sitting across the room.

"I got another question, has the Tonks family been informed? They are my acting guardians whilst Sirius is way on holiday," he probed, wondering where his aunt was.

"We were yet to be informed that Tonks family were your acting as your guardians. We were under the impression that the headmaster was your guardian of choice for this meeting," one of the younger Aurors stated, whilst sending look at the headmaster who was making himself busy talking with the deputy headmistress.

Taking a sip of his tea to help smother the urge to lash out at the Auror, Harry answered, "Next time don't assume, just ask. After all, I'm right here and does it look like I'm incapable of answering?" He really had to wonder if all Aurors at the ministry were incapable, not counting Madam Bones. "I'll contact the Tonks Family immediately." the Auror apologized.

"Headmaster, out of interest, how many attempted assassination attempts on average do you receive a year? After all, men in your position surely must receive their share. Also, what tips do you have on keeping the number to minimal?" He asked causally, now that they were in an exclusive club of sorts.

"Two on average, not counting cursed mail." The Headmaster added with bit of humor, breaking the tension in the air. "Hogwarts Ward Scheme filters any harmful mail, so don't worry about it."

"So one down one to go." Harry piped up humorlessly.

"The Tonks family has been informed, and are on their way here. Madam Bones is coming to oversee the investigation." The Auror announced to the room.

"Thank you." Harry said, beating the Headmaster to the punch.

Several minutes later his extended family arrived, "Andy, Ted." He said in greeting, giving them a short hug. "Did they tell you what happened?" He inquired, wondering what the pair had been told by the Aurors.

"Someone casted a Killing Curse and an Organ Liquification Curse at you, less than an hour ago," Ted replied, looking serious for change. "You okay?"

"I'm not surprised that there was an attempt on my life, but simply that it was in the school halls. I expected it when I freed Sirius that I could upset some well connected people, especially seeing the fall out. I'm rattled, but otherwise fine." He offered, "The Aurors are currently sweeping the building and the known passageways. Professor Sprout has gone to check on Tonks and tell her what happened. The Aurors are also going to be sweeping our rooms for any cursed items, in case this was aimed at the family rather just myself." He explained to the pair. "We're just waiting for Madam Bones to arrive for the official statements and questioning. I wanted you here to help protect my rights and act in Sirius' place since he's somewhere in the Caribbean with Remus."

"Alright, I doubt I'll be needed though. Have you told Sirius yet?" Andy asked, referring to the charmed mirror, since she had one to share with her daughter.

"No, I haven't had time. Besides, he can't do anything; he'll just worry and insist on returning. Even if I told him right now, he probably wouldn't be able to get a port-key back for a day at least."

"I'm going to check on my daughter if you don't mind." Ted stated, more than asked.

"Of course, Ted." The Headmaster replied, clearly watching and listening to the exchange. His voice was authoritative, likely an attempt to remind everyone here was present in his office in his school.

"Ted, tell her I'm fine. I know she'll be up in arms, but I promise to talk to her as soon as this is done." He requested, knowing Tonks was rather protective of him. His piece said, he dove into his mind, reliving the memory, looking for anything he missed, anything about his attacker that would be useful to the investigation. Only one thing was clear, it was an aged overweight man, based on the outline of the shadow.

But shadows were hardly reliable, and he knew a couple potions what could be used to change ones appearance, or it could be Metamorph like Tonks, but the ability was extremely rare.

At least it eliminated the Slytherin Quidditch team from his list of suspects, and Lord Malfoy, since the man may be killer, but he wasn't fat.

During his internal debate Madam Bones arrived, "Mr. Potter, it's nice to meet you again," The Head of Magical Law Enforcement said with smile, "So, shall we get down to business, it's already an awfully late hour," taking commanded of the situation with practice ease.

"Sure, I'd like to get this sorted. I'm sure the whole of Ravenclaw dorm has heard of this by now, so this isn't the only interrogation I'll be facing before I'll be able to get some sleep." He said, getting a chuckle from the stern lady. "I'll also have an irate cousin I'll have to help calm down, as well as pay a visit to our resident healer for another inspection, despite the fact I'm fine." He said, making it clear the prospect of another visit to Hospital Wing was the last thing he wanted.

Taking one of the free armchairs as the staff gathered around as witnesses, Madam Bones opened a box, pulling out an unusual quill, different from any he'd ever seen. Catching his curious look, she answered his unasked question, "This, Mr. Potter, is an official law enforcement quill, used to record statements, and shall be used to record this meeting. It's similar to a blood quill used for financial documents, commonly used by goblins."

Looking over at his Aunt, who just nodded and said, "Its fine, standard procedure."

"My Aunt here is acting as my guardian in place of Sirius Black, since he's on holiday overseas. She's also my legal representation in case it's required." He stated for the record, making sure the whole room knew, and reminding the Headmaster that he couldn't play either role as his Magical Guardian or legal consult.

"Lieutenant Moor, note that down." Madam Bones ordered, before activating the recording Quill, giving the standard information to head the transcript. "Interview of Harry James Potter, Heir to Potter Family, and Black family, survivor of a possible assassination attempt on the 17th October 1997. Witnesses present at interview; myself, Madam Bones Head of Ministry Law Enforcement... The headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick, Mr. Potter Legal consult and acting magical guardian Mrs. Tonks, in place of Harry's Godfather, Lord Black, Sirius Orin, Black, who is out of the country." She proceeded to list everyone in the room and any positions they held.

Watching as the head of Law Enforcement, checked the documents and quill, before turning her attention to him, "Mr. Potter, can you give us statement of what happened tonight," Madam Bones requested in stern tone.

Pulling up the memory, he started talking. "I was returning from one of the private potion labs, which had been given to me for personal use by the school so I can self study potions. However, during my return journey to the Ravenclaw Common Room I saw a flicker of in the shadows. I thought it could be a possibly be prankster, since I know the Slytherin Quidditch team is still bitter from earlier in the week, and has taken to pranking me."

"Or I thought it could have been Draco Malfoy, since he's taken to following me, I expect he'd been spying on me by orders of his father after the events of the summer. Naturally Draco is rather bitter with me at the moment, and has been looking for an excuse to get me into some trouble, either from his own making, or my own. Either way, I saw no one, no signs of a Disillusionment Charm, nothing. I thought I was getting paranoid from the pranksters."

"Why were you returning from a private potions lab, surely you would study under the resident Potion's master supervision?" Madam Bones inquired, already knowing the answer from summer, but asking for the sake of the record, and probably trying to gain some additional leverage over the Headmaster.

"Madam Bones I don't believe that is necessary." The Headmaster intervened, or at least tried to.

"I would like to remind you headmaster, that I am one who is trained law enforcement officer, not you," giving the age wizard a stern look, "And I am one leading this investigation, and questioning," Madam Bones stated forcefully, before turning her attention back to him, "Mr. Potter, please answer the question, and ignore the Headmasters remarks."

Deciding to walk the middle ground, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, "There's a bit of bad blood between myself and Professor Snape, due to his behavior last year. As such I'm self studying for my OWLs and possibly my NEWTs, if I decide to take potions. Professor Snape's predecessor, the retired Professor Slughorn, is currently marking my work by mail," He offered, deciding it would be better for the foreseeable future to play nice with the Headmaster, rather than causing trouble by telling of Professor Snape's illegal activities.

Watching as Madam Bones check the quill again, clearly wanting the last comment on record.

"Please continue with your recounting of tonight events." The Head of Magical Law Enforcement instructed.

Harry nodded, "As I continued walking I continued to feel like I was being watched, but I was unable to spot anyone. Like I said, I thought it was the pranks getting to me. After all, there are quite a few pranksters in this school, but Slytherin Quidditch team has taken to trying to jinx me. Less than a minute later, I heard the incantation for the Killing curse. On instinct I ducked and rolled; I've been dueling since first year, so it was an automatic reaction that I'm now very thankful for. The Killing Curse hit the wall behind my former position, I dodged again and got behind a suit of armour, avoiding a second curse which I did not recognize at the time. After that I was in good defensive position behind armour, with a classroom behind me ready to retreat into if needs be, so I stayed in place and surveyed the area, looking for my attacker." '

"It was for nothing though, because my attacker disappeared into a passageway I've never seen before. After that I decided to stay put, since I didn't know the passageway or its layout, and could have easily walked into an ambush. Naturally by this point, the paintings were screaming and going for help, so I just waited. Eventually the staff started to arrive; the Deputy Headmistress was first on the scene," gesturing with a flick of his hand in her direction. "I am willing to provide a memory of event for your examination, if it helps catch my attacker." He offered.

"You said it was a man, can you give us a description of the attacker?" Susan's aunt inquired.

"Average height, not short or tall just under 6 feet, a bit overweight; likely middle aged, if I had to guess," He listed, remembering the hood falling as the attacker fled the scene, "Appeared to be balding on top, but it was hard to tell due to nature of the attack. I only really saw him flee, so I can't give a description of his face, sorry." He said to Aurors, feeling his description was lacking.

"That's more than sufficient Mr. Potter, we're glad to have that much." Madam Bones assured him, knowing it wasn't much to go on, but wanting to stay positive. "Now, the final question, do you have any ideas on who would want to have you killed?"

Harry snorted, easily able to think of several people, "Literally anyone who's lost money from Sirius Black being released from jail. I know for fact Lord Malfoy was hit the hardest, as well several ministry officials, have been harmed, past and present, who are already under an investigation lead by you." He didn't have to mention that the Chief Warlock was amongst them, but his significant glance was telling for everyone in the room.

"Then of course there's the Slytherin Quidditch team, but I doubt any of them are involved; they would prank me, maybe beat me up, like they did to Katie bell last year." This got a curious look from Madam Bones, but she remained silent and let him continue. "I don't believe they would kill me. Plus, none of their players are going bald on the top, yet." He joked.

"However," He said seriously, composing a more realistic mental list of people who wanted him dead, "There's one person who fits all this, now I think about it, Peter Pettigrew."

His answer stunned the room, and Harry continued before anyone could exclaim anything, "I exposed him. He'd disappeared, and now he's on the run with a bounty on his head. He would be the same age as the attacker in question, and would be capable of casting that curse." He explained absently as his mind latched onto the theory and ran with it.

"He's also an illegal rat Animagus, so naturally it would be in his nature to flee after his ambush failed. I find it hard to believe that this was work of a hired professional killer, it's too crude, too primitive." He said to room, letting them judge and process his analysis. "It would also explain why you couldn't find him; if he changed into rat he could have easily disappeared and been out of castle without detention. Mice and rats are rather common around the castle grounds; no one would question seeing one within the school walls since some students even have them as pets. It would also explain him being familiar with the passageway, because Peter was a 'Marauder' during his time at Hogwarts."

"Marauder?" Madam Bones inquired, clearly not familiar with the legendary group. Not that it was all that surprising since it must have been after her time at Hogwarts.

"A group of Gryffindor students lead by James Potter. They were pranksters that caused chaos throughout the school." The Deputy Headmistress answered with hint of affection and pride at her former students. "They pranked teachers and students alike on almost daily basis, but it doesn't explain how Peter became an Animagus. It's a very difficult ability to achieve, I assure you. It took me several long years to master, even with another Animagus helping me through it. Maybe he found a ritual of some kind?" She looked at the Headmaster for answers.

Harry snorted, getting everyone's attention. "My father was an Animagus too, he taught Peter during his time at Hogwarts. My dad mastered it in just a couple of years, but Peter didn't achieve his transformation until his final year. My father was a stag Animagus by the time he returned to the school in his sixth year." He told the room, since it wasn't like his dad could be fined for it, plus if the knowledge help catch his parent's betrayer, it be worth telling the secret. Besides, it didn't reveal that Sirius was an Animagus, something that never popped up in the court hearing. After all, Sirius was under effects of truth serum, and couldn't lie about it; none of them had stopped to question how Peter learnt it in the first place, all they had cared about was the political fallout and their own jobs.

"Impossible," The Deputy Headmistress protested shaking her head firmly, "I would have known," clearly rattled by the fact that she didn't know one of her prize students had managed to become an Animagus, and even taught another.

"Well if you don't believe me that's fine." He shrugged, not really caring since it meant she would never expect his own transformation. "My father was in middle of writing a textbook on how to become an Animagus. He believed that traditional texts overplayed the difficulty of it."

"Then why didn't he tell us, or resister?" The Head of House demanded, the recording quill continuing to do its job.

At first, he was going say, 'You would have to ask him,' however he bit off that childish response, but seeing the Headmaster about the speak, he answered, "Simple, his stag Animagus form gave him an additional means to escape if he was ever attacked by Death Eaters." His answer caused certain elements in the room flinch. "There were other reasons, such as one of his friends, and fellow Gryffindor, was a werewolf." He added, looking to the Headmaster and his Deputy, while the rest of the staff and Aurors looked questioningly at the Headmaster. "Plus, an Animagus form is considered a personal thing by some people because it reflects you at your core, at your soul."

"As interesting as this is, were getting side tracked." Madam Bones stated, looking at the Deputy Headmistress, and Headmaster. "I believe, Peter is a rather good suspect, Mr. Potter made a rather good argument supporting it with the available facts."

"Maybe, Madam," Harry supplied, knowing his argument wasn't a hundred percent. "It's just a theory, a speculation of known facts." He said seriously, not wanting to mislead the Aurors. "Let's work backwards and use the principles of Occam's Razor. Lord Malfoy, the man I did the most damage to with releasing Sirius, surely that man would have the contracts necessary if he'd desired to kill me off? Surely he would have hired a capable man, a man he knew would not mess up or risk revealing him, a professional, who would be discreet." He saw Madam Bones nod, agreeing with his assessment. "By this logic, it eliminates Lord Malfoy's involvement. The same could be said for alot of Lords who have had questionable past dealings. Besides, trying to kill me off so publicly so soon would be too dangerous."

"I agree with Mr. Potter." The Headmaster stated with certainty, capturing the whole audience, "Lord Malfoy and the other Lords Harry's actions hurt this summer, may wish him harm, but they would not act so boldly, or so soon. Plus as much as they hate to admit it, they have their own code of conduct; they would prefer to destroy him more personally, more hands on, after making an example of him." The aged wizard said with a sad smile.

He went on to add, "This fits what I remember about Peter, smart enough to pull something off, but lacks the finer planning or refinement." He said with clear disapproval, whether from the action, or the lack of planning like a teacher marking down a poorly planned project no one knew. "Whilst Lord Malfoy is cunning, and his actions are always planned out, this is too soon for him to act. He does not have enough allies in Ministry or the Wizengamot to protect himself, if it was ever traced back to him, he would not risk it so soon." He shook his head.

"If he could kill Mr. Potter with 100% certainly he could get away with the crime, he would. But everyone would expect him in this case. The Wizengamot would not stand for an underage dual Heir being killed so violently, they would demand that he be questioned. And from my own sources, Lucius believes I engineered his recent troubles this summer, with Madam Bones assistance; and we just used Mr. Potter as an unwitting tool." The Headmaster explained with some humour.

"So can I go now?" Harry asked, having already made similar arguments himself. Plus he knew it was Peter, it just fit too well, his gut was just telling him it was right, and his gut hadn't lead him wrong so far. If he stopped trusting himself, who could he trust in the end? He would end up questioning everyone, and everything. No he would trust his gut, he would trust his magic.

"You can go, but a protection detail will be arranged for you. I won't allow a child to be murdered in my school! Not for doing the right thing." The Headmaster said angrily to the room. Harry didn't know whether it was an act or not, but it seemed like the man took his assassination attempt as more of a personal insult.

It made sense, he supposed, the Headmaster was already under attack from last year's events, an attempted assassination of Heir of Harry's rank would be devastating beyond repair, and could very well seal the Headmaster's fate. Combined with the fact there were other Heirs within the school walls, like Neville Longbottom. The Headmaster would have to reinsure other Family Heads he was capable of guarding their Heirs.

Not to mention that, historically, Hogwarts was neutral ground. Killing Heirs outside school was fine, but inside was a no-no because that just opened the door for your own Heirs to be murdered in retaliation in the school halls.

"I'll escort you Mr. Potter, I'm your guard for this evening." The Auror said.

"Very well. What's you name by the way? Because I can't exactly call you 'Auror' for rest of night, can I?"

"Alexander Hide. Second grade Auror at your service, so where to? Ravenclaw Common Rooms?"

"No, I've got a cousin to calm first." Harry replied, wondering what he was about to walk into, as he opened the door.

"I'll join you also; I'd like some word with my daughter," Andy said seriously, "Words she can't ignore."

**Midnight Gold**

As soon as Harry left the room Dumbledore turned to Madam Bones, "I believe a protection detail is in order, as well several Aurors station around the school, we can't allow any students to be harmed due to one rogue killer."

"Do not tell me how to do my job." She said dangerously. "I have my niece here you know, I don't want her being caught up in crossfire anymore than you do. You know as well as I do Hufflepuff have most of their lessons with Ravenclaw." She shot back with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Good, we're in agreement then." He said, ignoring her comment. "I would like Mad-Eye to be on the security detail, his magical eye will see Peter a mile off, even in his Animagus form. And it would give Mad-Eye something to hunt, you know he's looking for one final good assignment before retirement, let it be protecting his old partner's son. He could always help cover DADA lessons as part of his cover, my recent teacher choice is turning out to be a mistake and disappointment." He admitted to Madam Bones as the Aurors started to leave the office to follow out their orders, the staff joining them.

"I'll see if he can be transferred from his current case." She said vaguely before leaving the office as well.

All too soon, only the Headmaster and his Deputy were left, "You really think it's Peter then?" Minerva inquired, clearly disappointed one of her lions had fallen even further in her eyes.

Smiling sadly as he answered, "Yes, it was revealed during Sirius trial this summer. Everything Harry said is true; Peter is the logical choice with our current evidence. And Lucius has other schemes in motion at the moment, and they don't involved Harry. Severus is certain that Lucius does not mean to harm Harry directly, at the moment. Lucius has convinced himself I'm responsible for his recent misfortune, even if it cost me a little."

"Are sure Mad-Eye is the best choice?" She asked, causing him to mentally sigh; at least it wasn't Severus this time she was questioning.

"He's the best Auror of the last century; I hope just having him in the same building will cause Peter to go to ground. Plus he was James's mentor; its fitting is it not? That he can help shape the next generation of Potters? He can keep one eye on the boy, and with the other eye of the lookout for any trouble." He explained. He didn't mention that Mad-Eye's magical eye would be useful for undermining Lucius current plot and hunting for the Chamber of Secrets as well spying on Mr. Potter. Peter's actions had given him a chance to reinforce the school, and he was going to take it.

Plus the public couldn't say that he was being indecisive, with a squad of Aurors under the command of legendary Mad-Eye Moody, how could they? Plus the Aurors could be used as back up teachers for DADA position if need be, since he was getting a feeling the curse was going to strike again this year.

"Minerva," He said, getting the Deputy Headmistress' attention, "James was an Animagus, and so is Sirius Black, I believe Sirius is a dog Animagus, from what Remus was telling me." He revealed, unsettling his Deputy even more than she had missed so much, and it explained why Sirius was always causing her problems.

"Then why didn't Harry say that Sirius was one? Why hide that?"

"Simple, Sirius is an illegal Animagus, and the fine is so small for being caught for person in Sirius' position that it's better kept a secret. No doubt Harry himself will be learning the skill in a couple years, or has already started. Since he said its 'personal' with far too much emotion for someone who never studied it would have."

"You think Harry is studying to be an Animagus already? The boy is good at Transfiguration, but there's no way he could achieve a form being so young. His form hasn't set, his mind is yet to be defined." The local Hogwarts Animagus argued.

"Maybe," Albus admitted, acknowledging her expertise in the subject area, but he wasn't convinced. Mentally, the boy was beyond his years, and his magical understanding was developing rapidly, if the continuous **'O's **he got from his homework assignments were anything to go by, or the 97% average score he got across his end of year exams.

Then again, first and second year material was comparatively easy, so he would have to wait a bit. Then the boy was also learning Mind Arts, which was another sign of the boy being more than capable of getting the mental focus necessary for achieving his form as long as he had one. "Well, I need to get on with some work, as well as make a press statement about the whole incident. I'm sure you have you own duties to perform." He declared, dismissing the cat Animagus.

**Elsewhere In The Castle**

Walking into the Hufflepuff Common Room with his escort in tow, no sooner than he got through the door was he wrapped in a tight hug, "Harry! Are you alright?" She exclaimed, ignoring the rest of Common Room, who were either giggling, or watching with some concern, from their comfortable chairs.

Wiggling his way out of the hug he soothed, "I'm fine cousin, do you think I'd be walking about if I wasn't?" Harry absently wondering how long it would take before the entire school knew what happened. "I may have to visit the hospital wing for cracked ribs."

"Stop kidding about, someone tried to kill you!" Tonks scolded, while her parents looked on with amusement.

"Yes, I know, I was there." He joked with a hint of sarcasm.

She gave him a scolding look. "Harry."

"I'm fine, I just came here to show you I'm fine, so you don't have to worry. After all, you know how much rumors get hyped up." He said, entirely serious, "Now, I believe your mother wants to talk to you."

Before suddenly adding, "Don't worry, there's going to be several Aurors stationed at school for a while, I'll be fine." He assured her before leaving the Common Room.

"That was short." His bodyguard stated.

He shrugged indifferently, "Didn't fancy having a conversation with the whole population of a House watching and listening to what's going on." He said, scanning the corners as he made his way back to his common room, still on high alert. "What House were you in? Or did you go somewhere else for schooling?" He asked, noticing the Auror's eyes jumping all over the place.

"Durmstrang." Alexander replied simply.

"Ah, and what do you think? Does Hogwarts live up to its reputation?" He asked curiously, having never considered going somewhere else to learn, even if he had issues against the staff of his current school. Maybe he would consider a transfer, if things got worst.

"Don't know, though I admit, it's certainly more homely. Durmstrang is run more like a military barracks than a place of learning at times. Plus the snow is nice at first, but becomes a pain after a while." Alexander admitted. "It's always cold."

"Interesting, what do you learn there?" He asked, taking the steps casually as he made his way up a staircase, unlike the Auror who looked outright nervous as he looked down at his feet.

"Well, mainly the practical side of magic, rather than theoretical." Alexander said.

"I can see the appeal of that." The last Potter replied, seeing the advantages to that type of course scheme.

Answering the riddle at the door, Harry stepped inside and found almost his entire House staring at him. "Yeah, I'm not dead, though someone did try to make that declaration false." He announced before heading over to his friends. "What's up you guys?" He greeted, causing them to snap out of their daze.

"We thought you were dead, the paintings were saying you'd been murdered!" Terry explain hurried as Padma lunged at him, wrapping him in a tight hug, dried tear marks easily visible. "Only Penny believed otherwise."

The girl in question was sporting a smug expression.

Smiling, Harry said, "Nice to see someone has some faith in me, besides all of you should know better than to trust the paintings to give accurate recounting, they love to gossip." He scolding the group, still comforted by the evidence that they cared. He gently worked his way out of Padma's hug, "I'm fine Padma."

"I told them the same thing." Penny said from her armchair.

"Well, I need to write a letter to my Godfather now. We can talk more in morning." He said before turning the rest of Common Room. "What are you waiting for? An assassin to appear out of smoke and shadow?" He scolded, wondering why everyone was always listening to his business, before heading up to his dorm.

"Mr. Potter, I need to check your room for anything dangerous." His bodyguard said suddenly.

Moving to one side to grant the Auror access, he nodded. "Sure, go ahead, but I doubt you'll find anything," A couple minutes passed before he was finally allowed access to his own room.

Finally alone, he activated his charmed mirror, before throwing a silencing charm on the door so he wasn't overheard. A minute ticked by before the surface rippled like liquid metal, "Hey Pup, what's up?" His godfather asked cheerfully as his face appeared.

"Hey," he greeted back, wondering how to tell his godfather without causing him to rush back from his long overdue vacation. "Well, I'll keep this short, someone just tried to kill me."

It took less than a dozen heart beats for his godfather to recover, "Serious? No joke."

"Serious, Sirius, the Tonks are acting as my guardian in your place. I was ambushed in a corridor today on my way back to the common room. I think it was Peter." He said, before explaining the night's events. He had to calm his Godfather down, as expected, but Sirius promised not to come rushing back as Harry assured him he had everything under control.

**Next Day, Breakfast**

The whole school was gawking at him, "Yeah, I', fine, no I haven't died yet, no matter how much some of you may want me to." He smirked, sending a look at the Slytherin table. "So why don't you go back to your breakfast rather than staring at me? Haven't your parent told you how rude it is to stare?" He scolded them like children before sitting down next to Padma.

"Well, someones in a cheerful mood." Terry said, breaking the ice.

"Sorry, it's just annoying." He offered for his bad mood.

"Know who you tried to off you then?" Another Ravenclaw probed, clearly seeking some gossip.

"Peter Pettigrew is most likely suspect." He said to the table, since all of them were listening, some just more discreetly than others as he grabbed some fruit from the table, not feeling like cereal today. "The thing that annoys me is that for the foreseeable future I'm going have a guard following me around, I kind of like my privacy." He said, more for Padma's benefit.

"Hopefully whatever Auror who's assigned to guard me will be cool, I'd rather not have them hovering around while I bathe or shower, that would just be plain creepy." He said, getting a series of chuckles and giggles at the image he just made.

"Never know, you could get a hot blonde." One of the older boys said from up the other end of the table.

"Doubt I'll be that lucky." He said getting a playful twat on the shoulder from Padma, "What! Just trying to look on the bright side of the situation, rather than dwell on the negative Padma." He said in his defense.

"Nah, you got Mad-Eye Moody by the looks of it." His cousin announced, taking a seat next to him, pushing Terry away, who tried to protest, but was ignored by the Metamorph. "At least you'll be safe, he's put more dark wizards behind bars than anyone in the Ministry history. How are you coping?" She asked, grabbing some toast.

"I'm fine Tonks." He answered seriously, "How do you know it's Mad-Eye and not some ministry grunt?" He asked, wondering what his dad's old mentor would be like.

"Saw him talking to the Headmaster, along with good dozen Aurors."

"I feel sorry for Peter then, Mad-Eye will have an axe to grind. My dad was his partner for a bit during the war, and Mad-Eye knew Peter, and probably considered the turncoat a friend. I can't imagine how much Mad-Eye would want to gut the traitorous rat." He explained, wondering how the recent Aurors being deployed around school would affect Lucius plot. Would it be called off?

**Sometime Later**

Finally able to ditch his escort so he could meet up with his friends in secret in the 'Swan room', he walked through the door, addressing the group. "I'm sorry I'm late, had problems ditching my escort." he offered in explanation, seeing Blaise had joined them for first time, sitting close to Daphne, clearly marking his territory of sorts. "Nice to see you Blaise, what has Daphne told you of this place?" He said offering his hand, making a subtle power play.

Shaking his hand firmly, Blaise offered a noncommittal, "Bits and pieces," before he briefly looked at Daphne, as if she had sold him out. Daphne, not to be cowed, glared mildly right back at him, telling him to be quiet. At least that's the impression Harry got.

"Well, I'll give you a brief history, this room was a private study of Lady Swan, hence the swan door guardian. Tracy found this room for us so we could have a private meeting place to study without persecution or distraction from the rest of the school." He explained getting nods all around.

"We also use this room to discuss our own more private business, which we prefer not to be overheard by other students or staff. You could say this room is a place where we can plot and scheme without eavesdroppers. Naturally using our combined influence to help shape events in school to our benefit." He listed, "I'm sure you can understand the desire to have like minded people working together for mutual gain? Daphne, do you have anything you want to add?" He finished, wondering if the Slytherin wanted to add anything.

"No, you covered everything."

"Have I missed anything?" He asked, looking around, getting shaken heads from Padma and Tracy.

"Oh, by the way, Daphne chose the colour scheme of Black and Gold." He revealed, gesturing to the rug and the curtains, giving the girl credit. "Now onto business, first and foremost, I'm okay and alive, however I would advise you to distance yourselves from me publically until Peter is taken care of. I'd rather you guys didn't get caught in the crossfire. Also, by sounds of it, I'm going to have Mad-eye Moody watching over me, and frankly I doubt I'll be able to slip away from him like I did with my current guard. So I may have problems getting to these meetings and this place in general, so I'll ask Padma to relay anything important. I doubt you want Aurors listening in on our private business, especially any of the more sensitive stuff." He reasoned, getting a nod from Daphne.

"Now, Peter is also a rat Animagus. Yes, I know this for a fact, so be watchful. After this I plan to go to library and research any spells what can be used to detect Animagi, so if you want to join me, I won't pass up the extra pair of hands for researching. Also, as you've probably seen, Tonks and Penny have taken it upon themselves to escort me around." He said dryly, watching as smirks appeared on the other's faces. "Yes, I know it's funny, but it also prevents me from meeting as freely."

"We could just invite them to join us? Tonks is a perfect; she's popular within the puffs and the 7th years. Having her on our side would be useful, and could help us move about easier. Plus, it would be good to have someone in the Hufflepuff, and the upper years." Tracy suggested thoughtfully, getting a nod from Daphne.

"Penny would be useful as well. She's loyal to you, we all can see it. She's also one of the staff's favourites. She'll probably end up being the Head Girl next year, and it would be good to have that position in our pocket. Percy will properly be the Head boy, and he's an ass and a bully, we've all seen what he was like last year, so Penny could help keep him on a leash. The boy is crushing all over her, we can all see the puppy eyes he has for her." Hearing Tracy's description of Percy caused him to remember the drama from last year in the hospital wing after the whole troll ordeal. "On more personal note, the girl is smart, and I could use some extra help with my studies." Tracy admitted getting a giggle from Padma.

Faking a hurt look, Harry replied playfully, "So I'm no longer good enough for you?"

"Yup." Tracy said instantly, not falling for his banter.

"I won't object to having them around more, it would make my life easier if I didn't have to ditch to them, or lie to them." he admitted. "What about you guys? What you think?"

"Hmm..." Daphne hummed thoughtfully, "I'm fine with it. I just don't want to add too many people to group too fast, because we can't properly learn about their character or whether we can trust them fully. After all, we'll be discussing private issues between us, and don't want my business becoming common gossip. Tracy makes a good argument though; Tonks will be gone by end of the year, plus she's good at DADA, and you duel with her. So having her around would be logical, and would help us with our studies since Lockhart is dreadful. Tonks is Puff too, so she'll be loyal to you, both because she likes you, and you're part of her family. She would be loyal to us by proxy, so she won't gossip about what we talk about. Penny I have no doubt of, invite her, she will be useful, especially if she's Head Girl." She said simply, clearly already planning on how to use Penny for her own advantage.

"I agree," Padma added, "Both are talented and smart, and outside Hogwarts they should do well. So I'm all for having just older friends outside Hogwarts that I'm on good terms with."

She looked over at Blaise, who was just watching silently, "What do you think? You're a part of this group now, so feel free to add your opinion, even if you disagree with what's being said."

"I don't know them, never really cared to learn about them." He admitted coldly, "But the points made are valid, far better to have them friendly to us than someone else. Percy is arrogant, the Head Boy position would make him insufferable, that alone gives merits to the Muggleborn." He said, causing Daphne and Tracy to shoot venomous looks at the boy.

Ignoring the comment, despite it being dig at a couple of his friends, and indirectly at his mother, Harry sent a questioning look at Daphne, "Okay, I'll bring them next time. Daphne, I finished that potion you requested." He reached into his pocket and slid the vial over to her from across the table. "Tell me if you need anymore." He added, catching the curious looks Blaise was sending them both.

"My thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Oh, while I remember, here." Daphne said, taking out a couple pieces of parchment, "Notes from Tuesdays lesson." She clarified, handing him the notes.

"Thanks, you're a life saver." He said, looking over the Herbology notes.

He and Daphne eventually found themselves alone, so he took the opportunity to talk to her, "I hope your right about Blaise." He already had his own doubts about the other boy.

**That Evening**

Walking up through the steps to his dorm room, just grateful at finally being able to get some peace and quiet so he could start looking over the notes he made in the library, he was annoyed when a rough male voice sounded behind him."Potter."

Harry spun around, wondering who it could be before seeing an disfigured man in Auror robes with a magical blue eye, which span madly about scanning the corridor, before he limped forward, revealing a metal claw like leg. Putting all these things together, he realized this was the Mad-Eye Moody that his cousin had mentioned at breakfast, "Mad Eye."

"So you've heard of me, Potter." The aged Auror replied, his magical eye scanning him.

"Only by reputation. I also know you were my dad's partner for a while during the war, and a part of the Order of the Phoenix_. _My mother's journal spoke rather highly of you, and my cousin saw you earlier talking with the Headmaster." He listed, examining the Auror in turn, wondering what that magic eye could see.

"Good, now that that's out of the way. First things first, I ask you not to ditch your escorts. Second, tell us where you're going at all times, If I say no, it's no, that means no Quidditch, no walking school halls alone, you go where we can say we can go." The Auror said, listing off the rules.

Knowing it was stupid, but he wasn't about to quit Quidditch when he'd put so much work into getting on to the team. "No," He said sternly, causing the Auror to blink with his good eye. "This is my life, not yours, I never asked for this protection detail, the Chief Warlock did, because he wants to save face. Any more bad press and he'd get kicked out of Hogwarts because it would be proof he can't provide security for the students. Something the press has been braying for all year."

"Listen Potter, this isn't a game, nor a time to be stubborn." The Auror argued.

"If push comes to shove I can easily disappear and get home schooled. I don't want your help, and personally I want the son of a bitch to try his luck again. Now that I know he'd here I'll be ready for him. He took something from me, his actions cost me my family, and that's something I have no intentions of overlooking." He promised, already having a basic plan in place for of the assassin truly was Peter.

"This is no time for heroics, boy!" That word, that _tone_, caused him to see red, to see his uncle's chubby face, reminding him of his promise. Ignoring his rising anger, and the desire to hex the Auror, knowing that it was futile and childish - he could already see the man was outfitted with body Armour - he answered, his voice cold, "Remember this, I can either work with you, or against you, and at the moment I feel very much like causing you and your squad as much trouble as possible, now if you'll excuse me, I have work I need to handle."

He slipped into his room, having every intention of ignoring the man, who he could hear following behind him due to the metal limb's heavy impact against the stone floor. Inside he was confronted with a magical portrait, a door guardian, who happened to be an elderly scholar, reading an aged book, blocking access to his room.

"Password." The door guardian said, looking up from the book it was reading, sitting relaxed in an armchair next to a fireplace.

"How's about you let me in my room before I decided to break out the flame charms?" He threatened darkly, his patience running thin.

"Incorrect answer." The guardian replied, slightly uneasily, but not moving a muscle to suggest he was affected by the threat.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, you've met you door guardian for the duration of the danger." Mad-Eye said behind him smugly.

"I'm guessing this is your idea?" He demanded, seeing the Auror's smug smile.

"Indeed, boy." That word being used again caused Harry's eye to tick, his finger beginning to itch.

"You going to tell me the password? Or do I have to share room with one of my mates?"

"Oh I don't know." The age Auror said slowly, "This here's the Mage known as Drake Thornburg. Don't bother trying to threaten him, he's not like the school guardians, he's out of my private collection." The Auror explained with new levels of smugness "He's immune to most fire spells, and has a number of enchantments on it making it highly resistance against most spells, so if you want in, you're going to have to behave, and wear this." He offered, holding a ring out.

Looking at the rather plain silver ring, he noticed the faint Runes on it. "What does this ring do?" He probed, deciding not to make a joke about Moody not being his type, as well being too young to get engaged.

"This ring is enchantment with powerful health monitoring charms and locational spells, as well as a Portkey, just in case you're off grounds and need to flee. It only works if it's put on willingly. It can only be removed by me."

"That's no good, he'll just cut off my hand." Harry argued, causing the Auror to blink. "Besides, he's trying to kill me, not kidnap me."

"Potter it's done this way for reason." Moody insisted.

"The password is 'Horns are blown in the east, but my heart is in the ground'." Said a dreamy voice, causing the portrait to open, "If you want to change it, you have to say. "Sunflowers are a winter plant."

"Oh, thank you Luna." He said gratefully, noticing the usual girl, idly wondering how she knew it, before guessing she just overheard it. Without anymore hesitation he walked into his now opened dorm room.

"Sunflowers are a winter plant." He said as he shut the door and the painting before the Auror could recover his wits. "New password, is 'Pie three point one four one'" He announced, watching as the Portrait glowed faintly as the magic within accepted the new password.

He grinned like a mad men, thankful for Luna intervention, as well the private knowledge that no wizard would be able to work it out, especially not a average Pureblood student like Peter.

"Potter! Let me in right now!" Mad-Eye shouted from the other side.

"I said I could be a pain in the ass for you and your team, thank you for making that choice for me!" He called back before throwing up a Silencing charm on the door.

'_I'll have to thank Luna somehow.' _He thought to himself, sitting down for a peaceful read on the methods to detect and track Animagi.

**Midnight Gold**

The next couple days pass rather quickly, he spent most of it dodging Aurors and groups of students who seemed to be following him. Thankfully, he had Quidditch training, which he studiously ignored Moody demands to stop attending, and made it clear to Roger that he would play, and that if anyone tried to remove Harry from the team due to pressure from the Auror, he would pay the Weasley Twins as sizable bit of gold to prank him for next two and half years.

Of course, Tonks acting as an unofficial guard gave him a lot of extra time to train his duelling ability, as well as learn some new spells, which were a bit harder hitting in nature. He was already learning the Blasting Hex, a more powerful version of Banishing Charm, as well a Slashing Charm, which were both 4th year spells.

However, his Head of House deciding to join in on his unofficial training as well helped immensely.

"Please stay behind Harry, the rest of you are dismissed." The Charms Master said, sending his second year class mates away while he stayed seated. "Now, Harry, it seems you're ahead of your classmates and are clearly bored, if I'm any judge, and Padma is well ahead due to your help as well. I was wondering if you would be interested in some private lessons, working on more offensive charms, since they may come in handy?"

Grinning at the offer, Harry replied, "Sure, it would be more useful than the Aurors are. they seem to be dim witted, or plain lazy; I found one the other day asleep at his post, so now he's sporting yellow and pink poke-dot robes."

"Oh, that was you?" His Head of House chuckle, "He came to me asking me to fix it for him. I must say that was some a ingenious charm, did you make it?"

"No, my father and Sirius made it, with help from Remus." Harry explained, seeing no reason to lie, since he didn't know anything about spell creation, or the properties of the spell.

"Ah, why I am not surprised?" Flitwick said fondly.

"So when do you wish to meet up, I can't do Wednesdays, Fridays or Sundays, due to Quidditch practice." Harry requested, hoping this wouldn't be a problem.

"Of course, of course, how do Saturday mornings work for you, after breakfast at... half 9?" The Charms Master offered.

"Sure, I'm looking forward to it."

"Good, now, I must be serious for a moment Harry. I've heard you've been skipping DADA lessons on a regular bases, any reason why? Especially now, when being able to defend yourself is even more important." Flitwick asked, concerned for one of his favourite students.

Deciding once again to be honest, he explained. "Simple, the teacher is a fool, surely you've read the text book by now, after I pointed out the errors with it at the start of the term?" He asked.

The Ravenclaw Head shook his head, a frown on his face. "No I haven't Harry, I haven't had the time. The Headmaster said he would look into it."

The reply caused Harry to almost instinctively roll his eyes, "Well they're rubbish, close to useless, and so is the man. He couldn't even cast an Unlocking Charm. Lockhart is more interested in how his hair looks while teaching than actually teaching the class anything useful. So I'd much rather spend my Monday mornings self-studying rather than having to endure his presence, especially first thing on Monday morning when I also have history to deal with."

"Harry, I know you consider the man a fool, but at least get a sick note, or something so I can overlook the whole issue of you skipping DADA." The Head of Ravenclaw house argued.

"Are you saying that I should intentionally fake sickness?" He probed, wondering truly whether the man was serious.

"No, of course not, I just want you to at least try to hide the fact you're skipping the man's lessons. As well some of your history classes to self study, or duel with your cousin." The Charms Master pleaded, "If you don't, at least make an attempt to hide what you're doing, or you'll have the deputy headmistress on your backside, which I can't ignore without encouraging other students."

"You could always give me the detentions instead? We could use that for the extra charms work?" He asked, but received a stern look from the half goblin, "I guess not then?"

Harry sighed, "Sitting in that room, listening to that idiot drone on about what colour robes go best with different colour dragonhide amour, I almost feel myself getting dumber. Having to watch him act out scenes from his book is tiresome beyond measure as well. Even if it's funny watching Neville having to act the part of a banshee, or a vampire," He admitted.

"Harry, I must insist you go, even if you think the teacher isn't qualified. If you don't, I can't offer to teach you on Saturdays." His Head of House said. "Plus, you can't be on Ravenclaw Quidditch team either."

"Fine, I'll go." He agreed reluctantly, but a couple hours with the Charms Master's tutoring would more than make up for having to endure Lockhart's company.

_'Unless, of course, Lockhart had problems attending lessons...'_ Harry thought with a devious smirk.

**Midnight Gold**

Harry walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, which had already started, before taking a seat next to Padma and getting out his Charm's books to read to read instead of DADA material.

"Harry, I thought you were skipping?" Terry said, having no subtly.

"Why, this is my most favourite class!" He said with good measure of sarcasm, "Especially when I get to watch you play the part of a mummy." He remarked, flipping the pages to read up on the Arrowhead Hex he was learning, which shot a arrow head like dart from end of his wand. The charm itself had elements of Transfigurations in it, due to the creating of a physical arrow out of molecules in the air, rather than direct magic like jinxes and curses.

After a couple minutes of reading he asked the room, "Any idea where ol' goldilocks is?" Giving voice to everyone's muttering.

"No idea, he wasn't at breakfast either." Hannah said with clear concern.

"Maybe Peter got him?" Justin offered, getting a round of chuckles from the boys before Susan and Hannah slapped him." Don't say things like that, the man could be hurt or in danger!"

"Maybe we should tell a teacher?" Susan said, from behind him.

"Okay, you go and find one then." He said, before flipping the page of his book casually. "However, I'm going to catch up on my reading. Why don't you use the chance to catch up on your own work?" He suggested, seeing a few students getting out their own pieces of work at.

"You know, if a professor doesn't turn up by the half the hour mark the lesson is canceled." Antony said a few minutes later. From behind him, Justin added to the mix. "Why can't Snape be late then?" Getting chuckles from everyone in the room.

Elsewhere in the castle, the man known to the world has Professor Lockhart was flicking his wand madlyat the storeroom door he currently found himself locked in for the hundredth time. Cursing for all his worth, his inability to cast a simple Unlocking Charm on the storage room door. It wasn't until he calmed down enough, did it suddenly occur to him that he could just summon an elf to help him unlock the door allowing his escape. By that afternoon, a grand story cycling the castle of the famous DADA professor doing battle with evil Peter, before getting trapped in a storage room.

However another story went around about the school, about the man's inability to cast a second year Unlocking Charm on the cupboard door. Which resulted in a number of older students asking the Professor to recap the Locking Charm for them. All the blond Professor did was refer them to the resident Charms Master and flashing a smile. "My dear colleague Filius would be able to teach it better than I ever could." He excused.

Only a couple teachers suspected what really happened, and one of them being the resident Charms Master.

**Halloween Feast**

The Great Hall was buzzing with celebrations as the ghosts gathered around to celebrate the holiday. The security around the school had started to relax a bit, since it seemed that Peter had gone to ground. While it did help him relax a bit, the threat was always there in the back of his mind.

"Smile Harry, you've made it to another Halloween!" Terry joked.

"Hard to do when you got a murderer after you." He said lightly, forcing a smile, as they walked through the great doors, narrowing avoiding a distressed Ron Weasley, who wasn't watching where he was going.

"Ron, seriously, why are you worried? It was just a rat, so what if it's gone missing, it's not like it did anything special, it just slept, ate and shat all over everything." Dean said to the devastated Ron.

"It's been in my family for years, Percy found it one day in our backyard, and it was his pet until he started Hogwarts." Ron shot back.

"I find that hard to believe. Rats only have life span for 3 to 4 years. Are you saying that your rat was over 5 years old?" Hermione argued in a factual tone.

"No, it's been in my family for over a decade." Ron protested heatedly, causing Harry's interest to peak at the unfolding argument.

"Impossible," Hermione said, shaking her head with finality. "The only way that could of happen is either your parents replaced it when it died with new one so you wouldn't be upset or you have familiar bonded with it magically, which is extremely rare due to the time it takes."

'_Or it could be an Animagus.'_ Harry thought to himself, wondering if it was possible that Peter had stayed hidden with the Weasleys for over the last decade by acting as a pet. He would have to investigate, as well tell his theory to Mad-Eye later, even if the Auror was an ass. After all, it would mean he would have his freedom again to move around the school freely.

"What are you thinking?" Padma asked, sitting down next to him, returning from her sisters table.

"Did you hear Ron and Harmonies' little exchange?"

"Yeah, I think half the hall heard it." Padma stated dryly.

Harry leaned closer so no one overheard. "Well, a rat Animagus could pretend to be a pet. After all, I doubt an average rat would live for ten years. Plus the Weasleys were fighting against You-Know-Who with my parents, so why couldn't Peter hide within their home as rat? Everyone believed he was killed by my Godfather. So he wouldn't have been removed from their wards. And since the Weasleys are light sided, and if rumors are true are favourites of the Headmaster," He listed, thinking over Penny's remarks about how Percy boasted about the prestige, "Peter could stay hidden right under everyone's nose and have a means to eavesdrop on any magical developments that could expose him." He whispered quietly in Padma ear.

"Your right, it would explain why Peter was within Hogwarts as well, if he came with Ron, and why there was no trace of him escaping from the grounds. You should tell Mad-Eye." His friend suggested. "Do you think Peter would willingly stay hidden as pet for over a decade? It seems desperate."

"Maybe?" He admitted uncertainly, "But what could he do? He faked his death, and if he turned up alive, people would question him on where he's been, and why he ran."

"True..." Padma said thoughtfully before she gave him a stern look. "Just don't do anything rash or stupid."

"Don't worry, I'll tell Mad-Eye the theory after dinner. Besides, Mad-Eye appears to be busy with something." He said, gesturing to the aged Auror limping out the Great Hall doors in a hurry. "It can wait. Anyway, let's just enjoy the feast."

"I guess you're right."

"Yup. Besides, what good would it do? Ron said it himself that the rat's gone missing, far better to keep the theory quiet until the rat turns up then spring the 'trap'." He explained, feeling better now that he had another plan of sorts in place.

He enjoyed more of the feast before small talk pulled him in, "So Harry, you think you'll win the upcoming match against Hufflepuff?" Antony asked between bites.

Thinking over the question while reaching for a piece of steak and kidney pie, he eventually answered. "Yeah, no reason why I shouldn't. It'll be their Seekers first game, plus the Puffs will play fairly, unlike other teams." Subtly gesturing to the Slytherin table. "Terry, how was history lesson today?" He asked back, wondering if he missed anything important, since he had skipped so he could duel with Tonks.

The blond boy gained a confused expression, before saying, "I don't actually remember." Which answered Harry's question nicely, since it was clear that the second year had fallen asleep again.

"Murder! Murder!" The shout went around the Great Hall, causing the students to stir and the staff to rush from the head table with the Headmaster leading the dash out of the doors, with the Aurors following behind him. It took the student body an initial moment to recover, before they too started to flood out the room after the staff. Placing his hand on Padma shoulder to keep her rushing way, he instructed, "Slow down, I'd rather not be shouldered and bumped." He lowered his voice as the other students rushed past, "This is either Peter's work, Malfoy's plot, or a stupid overreaction by a portrait."

Walking causally out of the Great Hall, noticing that several Slytherin's were hanging back as well, trying to put on a display of indifference. It was all for naught though, Harry could easily see how eager they were to see what had happened. Letting himself be taken with the crowd, he eventually got close enough to hear frantic whispering amongst the students.

Pushing his way through the crowd, he saw Mad-Eye frozen like stone with the caretaker's cat similarly frozen solid beside him.

Upon the wall the words, "**The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir beware!**" were written in blood red dripping letters.

"That means you, mudbloods!" Draco cried smugly.

"Enough, Mr. Malfoy! Another word you'll be in detention." The Headmaster snapped, breaking his attention from examining the two statues.

His attention was stolen again as the caretaker arrived, shouting over the whispering crowd. "What have you done to Mrs. Norris you brats!" Before centering his attention on Neville, who was standing closest to the statue.

"Enough! Control yourself!" The Headmaster yelled, actually raising his voice, taking control of the situation. "Prefects, please escort your Housemates back to your Common Rooms. Neville, stay behind."

Shooting a look at Daphne and Tracy, since they too saw the message, he drifted away with the rest of the Ravenclaws.

"Well this year just got far more interesting... What are odds that Neville will be somehow involved for a second year running?" He asked sarcastically to his fellow Claws, since it seemed once again the Lion's golden Boy was involved.

**End of chapter**

Yeah I'm a Dad's army fan so thought I play tribute to it, I have to say, I wrote that part before the actor died, (_Clive Dunn age 92)_. I also thought I'd introduce Peter as well, to mix thing up a bit. So two plots, one year, let fun begin... **evil chuckle**

Chapter is 11.6k words, I think this is my longest chapter written to date.

Did you know on HP website Lockhart was a Ravenclaw? I thought he'd be a Slytherin, personally.


	27. Y2 Game Plan

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes **- Unsure Let if will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note: **this is a long chapter to make up for the cliff hanger =) enjoy.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord **

**Chapter 27: Game Plan**

**Posted 10th**** Feb 2013**

**Revised and ****Beta read by: Slicerness**

Listening to the Deputy Headmistress explain their task, one could clearly see the subtle signs of concern hidden beneath her stern expressions if one was looking. Her whole posture seemed to be shaken, rattled by the previous night's events, and the whole student body could feel it. After all, if the opening of the Chamber had the unshakable Professor McGonagall rattled, everyone should be alarmed. However, before they could start their lesson for the day, Hermione raised her hand. Many wondered what the Gryffindor wanted; the instructions were rather clear, even Ron could understand it.

"Professor?" The bushy hair lioness asked nervously as the whole class looked at her, all wondering what she wanted. "Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets."

Silence fell over the classroom; no one dared to breathe as the professor weighed up what to say, clearly wrestling with what to do, before finally deciding, "Oh, very well."

The Head of Gryffindor House began to explain about the Chamber of Secrets and its legend, the whole classroom listening with interest. No doubt the information would be around the school by lunch time.

"Want to bet Granger heads straight to library after this lesson?" Padma offered, looking over at the student in question.

"Sucker bet." He replied, already remembering the lioness heading there before breakfast as he returned from his morning run. "Saw her this morning returning from the library, no doubt the only reason she asked about it is that she couldn't find anything." He guessed, still taking notes.

"Alright, how much you want to bet they blame Malfoy for it?" Terry asked from the row behind him.

Snorting at the question, not even bothering to look around and risk drawing the teacher's attention, he replied, "Not even a bet. Both Longbottom and Malfoy always blame each other for every drama or issue. If Malfoy got a paper cut from toilet paper, he would somehow blame Longbottom for it."

**Midnight Gold**

"Severus, may I have a moment of your time?" The familiar voice of the Headmaster rang in his ears as he made his way to his classroom for his upcoming lesson.

"I have a couple minutes I can spare for you, Headmaster." He replied coldly, still rather bitter with the old man for him putting him in such an embarrassing situation with fucking Potter, as well his own stupidly for not reading the document in the first place. Damn the boy, and damn the goblins and their stupid contracts.

Worst of all, all the upper year Ravenclaws were now carrying note pads of their own, noting down every action he took, every comment forcing him to play 'nice' or at least neutral to all of them. It didn't matter if he took their note pads; they had spares, backups, and backups for their backups. The only small mercy was that at least the Gryffindors weren't in on it, or the Puffs, allowing him at least have some means of release for his growing frustration.

Entering his classroom as the Headmaster started throwing up several advanced privacy wards to protect their discussion from potential eavesdroppers, he waited patiently until the older man was done.

"I trust you haven't learned anything else about the Chamber of Secrets, Severus?" The Headmaster asked, referring to the task he had set him earlier on in the term.

Remembering his meeting with his close friend, he answered, "No, Lucius paid a middle man to plant the book on a Hogwarts student." He lied effortlessly, knowing that Lucius had planted the object himself on a student, but not willing to betray his friend even if he did not approve of Lucius's scheme, it was too risky, there were too many unknowns, and it even risked his own son's life. But he couldn't betray the man, Lucius was like a brother he never had, then he was also Draco's Godfather, betraying Lucius would mean betraying Draco and Narcissa. Both of whom would suffer if Lucius actions ever came to light. In addition, it conflicted with his duty as a Professor to protect his students, even if at times he hated teaching the dim-wits, and wanted to strangle them with his bare hands on a regular basis. But there was nothing more rewarding than helping shape the next generation, watching and directing the growth of a talented brewer, helping them to reach their potential.

It wouldn't be so bad, if he could teach the subject he wanted, instead he was stuck teaching a difficult and dangerous subject he had no desire to. Potions, as far as he was concerned, shouldn't be taught until the student had matured, and had gained patience and sensibility, instead of messing about with dangerous mixtures. "He had the name and face of man removed, no doubt he's already had the man killed if it was possible." He explained, giving no emotion, knowing that his friend was more than capable of such an act, and hoping the Headmaster wouldn't question him further on the subject.

"Such a pity." The aged man answered, buying his lies, clearly deep in thought, as he went about setting up the lab for the next lesson, and setting out the instructions for a modified calming draught he would be brewing with his sixth year class.

"I've instructed Pomona to plant some new mandrakes in her private greenhouse. The last batch was found dead this morning, someone sabotaged the plant feed with a root killing potion, it could be an innocent accident, but I doubt it with the opening of the Chamber." The Headmaster admitted, catching him by surprise at the sudden news.

"An unlikely coincidence..." Snape added, thinking over the recent setback.

"Indeed, I reached the same conclusion, the problem is it does nothing to help us, the whole school had access to the greenhouse they were being grown in." Dumbledore explained further, moving to examine some of the potions on display.

Several minutes passed as he carried on preparing the classroom, leaving Albus to his thoughts, before finally getting started on his grading. Scanning the first assignment on the stack he gave it a 'T' without thought. There was no way Ron Weasley could have written it, clearly Granger had either helped him or, more likely, he'd copied it from her when she wasn't looking.

Personally he hope it had been copied, that would give him a fitting excuse to take a good number of House Points, and the old cat could do nothing about it, making him feel slightly better. After all, he couldn't get the boy expelled, or even suspended, since he was one of the Headmaster pawns. The worst part of this was the boy knew he was; he'd seen it in the boy's mind as of late. Apparently the infinite wisdom of Albus bloody Dumbledore had decided to clue the worthless little shit in on his worth.

Speak of the devil, "Severus, I want to test Neville to make sure the boy isn't somehow involved." The Headmaster finally announced, looking over in his direction.

"What do you have in mind?" Severus replied, looking up from his marking, putting the quill back in the ink well, ready to listen to whatever scheme his employer was brewing up.

"I'm going to arrange for Professor Lockhart to open a Duelling Club. I want you to be his assistant." He planned, causing Snape to frown at having to waste more of his valuable time, "Then set young Neville up in a duel with your godson, teach Draco a snake summoning charm, then have him summon one against Neville, and we'll see if young Neville is a Parseltongue."

Thinking over the scheme, somewhat annoyed that he would have spend a couple hours with the fraud that was their current DADA teacher, he spat, "Fine." Already knowing he couldn't get out of it. "Have you checked Ron and Hermione's minds?"

"Yes, I scanned their surface thoughts yesterday evening after finding Alastor, I found nothing foul, but I just want to make sure. You know as well I do with Neville wearing his ring now, I dare not risk looking into his mind." Albus grumbled at the minor setback in their means to monitor Neville.

He remembered the Headmaster had previous persuaded Lady Longbottom to hold back on giving Neville his families ring, under the guise of preventing the boy from getting too big a head, or growing too arrogant. It looked like that deal had run out, not that it'd done what it was supposed to. "Any idea why he's suddenly wearing it?" He asked. His mental probings were already limited from that stupid magical contract, restricting his abilities to spy.

"I believe one of the staff may have let slip of your skills to his grandmother." The Headmaster responded offhandedly, getting a sharp look from the Head of Slytherin House. "Do not worry, they can't mention the whole ordeal with Potter due to their employment oaths, the only thing they could do was let slip of your unique skills, not how you use them."

"However, I have a plan in place. If everything goes well we'll make proper use of your skills, legally, within the school." He added thoughtfully, "To a point, it depends on the outcome of this year."

He mulled over what the Headmaster had said, the last thing he needed was that women coming after him. He turned his attention back to his marking for a few moments before asking carefully, "Have you found a solution yet to the Potter situation?" Trying to stay emotionless around the Headmaster when it came to the subject of the son of his school nemesis, lest the man try and make them get along.

"I'm working on it, I have a couple ideas, but nothing solid. I don't want to underestimate him again." A reply that only caused his temper to flare, since it was him who was paying the price for the failure of the Headmaster's plans. "He could be of some use to us, though, if we handle this right." The scheming old wizard continued, causing Snape to mentally recoil at another one of the chief warlock's plots and schemes, which no doubt involved him somehow.

"Albus, you better get going, students are already arriving." Snape said, the wards triggering as the students started piling up outside, as he noticed the Headmaster's thoughts were elsewhere.

"Oh, sorry about that, lost track of time." The Headmaster excused before popping out the door, greeting the students as he left, firmly back in his jolly grandfather persona.

**Midnight Gold**

Seeing Penny sit down opposite him, with bruises forming on her face, Harry immediately damned, "What happen to you?" Alarmed at the state of his friend, as he examined her further. She look like she'd just gone through a boxing match with a heavy weight like Mike Tyson.

"Potions." She answered, just as several other sixth year Ravenclaws sat down equally bruised or worst. He looked around, noticing several other individuals were sporting similar injuries as they got stuck into their lunch.

"Care to explain? Or do I need to prank someone?"

"No, Harry, just an accident in potions." Penny replied, selecting some sandwiches and salad, doing her best to ignore his stare demanding more information. "We were brewing a modified Calming Draught, one used by medi-witches and wizards to help calm individuals in shock." She answered, before taking a greedy bite of her sandwich, grimacing as she chewed and flexed her bruised facial muscles. "Unfortunately, Reese missed a step or two, and then added crimson root to the mixture, causing the cauldron to explode. That in itself wasn't too bad." She explained.

"Professor Snape saw what was about to happen and cast a shield, taking much of the force out of the explosion. But due to missing Valerian, it corrupted the potion turning it into a substance similar to Draught of Rage, which coated two thirds of the class. And... well, after that it quickly turned into a full blown fight, fists and wands. Due to potions effects, stunning spells were useless."

"Oh, anyone seriously hurt?" He asked, his mind playing out the scene Penny had just created.

"Nothing that can't be repair with night or two in Hospital Wing, for the most part. However Reese took the worst of it; he may lose his hand." She said soberly as several other Ravenclaws listen in quietly, the hall was surprisingly sober. "The problem is that the mixture has to wear out by itself. So Potions is cancelled this afternoon as Professor Snape tries to create an antidote to counter it, or at least speed up its effects, otherwise they'll be raging for next couple days. And that puts alot of strain on their bodies."

"Ah..." He said grimly, picking up an apple, remembering his own Potions lessons the year earlier when Justin caused his simple boil cure potion to explode, covering half the room with minor burns and boils.

"Just shows why Professor Snape's so stern, when that can happen with just an advanced potion. Just imagined what could have happened if you were brewing an expert level potion, or something far more dangerous?" Penny reasoned.

"Yeah..." He answered as his mind started thinking over just how deadly potions could be as he thought over the number of potion brewing accidents he'd seen. Before his mind grabbed hold of an idea; if potions could exploded by simple accidents, why couldn't you make one explode on purpose? Like a grenade? A mental image of Snape desperately throwing exploding potion vials at an advancing horde of undead popped into mind for some reason, shortly before they dragged the professor off to get his hair washed.

"Harry?" Penny voice rang in his ears, snapping him back to reality.

"Yeah?" He asked, realizing he'd spaced out as he mentally started to drawing up design ideas for potion grenades, making note to ignore Terry rambling on ways to get back at Snape, since his fellow Ravenclaw had dreams of bewitching a horde of undead to drag the professor into the lake to wash his hair.

"You weren't listening, were you?" Penny stated with hint of annoyance, giving him a stern look.

"Sorry?"

"Well, I need to brew some anti-bruising paste since they ran out in the hospital wing, so can I use your Lab?"

"Sure, why not, I'll join you." He replied easily, accepting her request. "That's one of the potions I need to learn for this year anyways. Plus I wanted to ask you about something in private." He hinted, deciding it was time to ask Penny if she wanted to join his 'study group'. They really needed to decide on a name for their group.

They reached the potions lab, only to see an Auror standing outside the door, who did nothing but nod at them as they entered, which Harry was grateful for.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Penny asked as she made herself comfortable on a stool.

Taking a stool across from her as his own, he started things off, "Well, last year me and Daphne were trying to find a place to study without being disturbed, kind of like a private common room, where we could hang out and talk in private."

"So that's where you have been sneaking off to..." Penny wondered, clearly happy about having an answer to his disappearing acts.

Harry nodded, and she gave him her best stern look, which wasn't very effective, considering her face, was just a giant bruise. "So what does this have to do with me? I doubt this is the average study group?" She commented, once again reminding him why he considered her a friend.

"Well naturally this is a study group, but we also talk about personal matters, such as possible business ideas and joint ventures." He listed, growing confident as he saw Penny's eyes light up. "We talk about politics and our future roles. It's also good chance to make some deeper connections. Daphne's dad, for instance, is very well respected in the Ministry, and being on good terms with Daphne could only help you if you're still set on a Ministry career."

"So, it's a chance to get closer to the Greengrasses' through Daphne then?" She asked, clearly wondering what else was going on.

"If you want," He shrugged, choosing his words carefully, "Padma's there, Tracy, and Blaise too, and of course myself, all of whom are heirs to respectable families. Consider it a means to gain some additional contacts and allies. Think of it this way, you can help them out and a couple years down a line, you could have some favours to call in to help you move up the Ministry."

"What if I'm not interested in the Ministry anymore?"

"Favours are always a good thing to have Penny." He replied instantly, staring into her eyes, which were rather beautiful. That was something he was starting to notice more and more lately, the attraction of the opposite sex. The point was driven home as he felt her leg brush against his under the table and felt a pleasant tingle. "What do you say?"

**Midnight Gold**

Harry made himself comfortable on one of the couches with Penny at his side as everyone slowly started to arrive over the next 30 minutes. They did this mainly so they didn't draw any unwanted attention to their meeting point. It was their first chance to meet since the opening of the Chamber of Secrets a couple days earlier.

Not that they really had anything to hide, Harry's friendship with Daphne and Tracy was common knowledge amongst the Slytherins and most had no issue with it, except a few extremism who saw anyone non-Slytherin as beneath them. After all, Slytherin and Ravenclaw often had alliances because they could both value each other. Of course, Draco and his gang had a problem, but that was mainly because they just disliked Harry on a personal note rather than because he was a Ravenclaw.

You could say their little group was exclusive, or selective in nature, rather than outright secretive even if their meeting place was. Sadly not everyone would see it as that, but that was to be expected. People don't like or trust things they don't understand, or couldn't be a part of. He was sure that, in time, people would want to join and be rejected, and naturally spread rumors, trying to paint them as something sinister. Honestly, if everyone was allowed to join it wouldn't be exclusive would it? It was invite only.

He watched as Daphne and Tracy finally arrived, followed by Blaise. "Sorry we're late," Tracy said, "We had to dodge some Aurors, and had to lose a nosy tail." She explained, taking one of free chairs.

"Who followed you?" He asked, leaning forward in interest.

"Some generic Auror, no one we know." She said dismissively, clearly not thinking highly of them.

"The staff told all Prefects to watch for any unusual behavior amongst the students." Tonks revealed to the group. "It would make sense that the Aurors have similar orders."

"Know anything else?" Harry interrupted, trying to distract his cousin from questioning why Tracy was so uncaring towards Aurors. He knew why of course, Tracy's father had been murdered, and the Aurors just dismissed it, hence she was of low opinion of the law enforcement department, but it wasn't his place to say that.

"The running theory is someone just came into a bloodline inheritance as a Parseltongue over the summer, or maybe just before end of last year. Naturally since most well known wizards that have been Parseltongue have all been dark wizards, like You-Know-Who, they decided to carry on the family business... you know, kill all muggleborns." Tonks said, breaking her questioning look at Tracey. "The Aurors believe it could be an illegitimate child of You-Know-Who, since he's the only known one in the last century."

"So the Headmaster hasn't told the Aurors the truth then..." He said, thinking over everything as the room descended into silence, both Penny and Tonks giving each other confused looks before finally an annoyed Tonks asked, "Are we missing something?" clearly not liking being left out of the loop.

"Sorry." He admitted, realizing he hadn't told either of them of the plot.

"We already knew of the Chamber." Daphne picked up.

"You knew?" Harry's cousin asked, clearly shocked.

"Yes and no." Daphne answered cryptically for him. She moved her gaze from Tonks towards Harry, "It seems your informant was correct about the plot." She said. Next to her, Blaise looked equally confused as the two girls, before he remember why, whilst Penny and Tonks had similar confused look.

"For those of you that don't know what we're talking about," Harry said, gesturing to Daphne, Tracy, Padma and himself, "Over the summer, an information broker of mine overheard a plot being set up by Lucius Malfoy to take over the school, by using an artifact to open the Chamber of secrets. Of course, nothing happened when we came back, so naturally we dismissed it, thinking Lord Malfoy may have canceled the scheme after the events of the summer." He explained, referring to Sirius' release.

"You have a spy?" Tonks said, tone tinged with disbelief. In contrast, Penny just seemed to accept it, as if it was expected, or she was just used to such things.

"An information broker, not a spy. My source overheard at least part of the plot, since Professor Snape was discussing it with the Headmaster, so they could make preparations to counter it. So yes, the Headmaster knows about it, and has for some time."

"And naturally Lord Malfoy has covered his tracks. His involvement is just rumors, so even if it went wrong he wouldn't get stuck holding the wand." Blaise said, speaking for the first time.

"Indeed, this is a power play set into motion by Lord Malfoy so he can take control of Hogwarts under the pretext of guarding the school." He added, getting a nod from the boy, who understood what was unfolding.

Harry looked around, seeing he had all their eyes except Daphne's, who was clearly listening, but looking away trying to hide the fact. "The artifact was given to Lord Malfoy by his former master, Lord Voldemort, from what my information broker heard." He said, getting a collective flinch from everyone in the room, besides Penny, at mentioning the former Dark Lord. "Lord Voldemort was the last known heir of the Slytherin line, but the thing that's bothering me about this is if it was artifact, there would have to be someone inside the school to activate it, or position it depending on how it works, but the writing on the wall said '**Enemies of the heir, beware**'. That implies that there is a person involved, even more so if they waited for Halloween before activating it, to create more fear."

"It makes sense with the Aurors arriving and being posted around the school, that whoever is responsible may have delayed their plans. Since, they would suddenly have to find a means to avoid the detention of the Aurors. Then there are the new Dark Arts detectors Mad-Eye installed all over the place, before he was taken out. So maybe it took the individual behind it longer to activate it the artifact safely, without risking being caught doing so." Penny offered.

"I agree." Padma supported, "You're just about to attack, but suddenly half a dozen new pieces arrive on the board, upsetting whatever plans you've made. You would have to regroup and come up with new plan. But there is another option none of us considered." She hinted, but shifted nervously as everyone's attention was locked in her even more intensely. "The artifact could have needed time to charge before it could be used. That could be why it's only just opened."

"It's possible..." Blaise said slowly before Penny could speak. "I know of several charmed objects at my own home that need time to gather magic before they can be used."

Smiling deviously, Tonks added her own piece to the discussion. "It would explain why Mad-Eye Moody was taken out first. He was head of security with several decades of experience dealing with Dark Arts. Then with that magical eye of his, he could see and detect things a normal person never could. So if you were plotting to unleash an attack on the school from within, it makes sense to disable him. The only one who could be more dangerous would be the Headmaster, but he would be a far harder target. Since he's rarely out of his office, most of the day to day running of school is done by Professor McGonagall in his place."

"Makes sense," Padma added, "If you can't take out the king, take out his commanders. The rest of the Aurors assigned around the school are newbies. I've talked to couple of them, most of them only left the training academy this summer. This is their first proper assignment."

"Oh great..." Harry grumbled none too quietly, getting a round of chuckles and amused looks.

"The question is, what are we going to do about it in either case? You originally told us to help keep us safe." Daphne said.

"How do you want to play this?" He asked the room, already knowing he was going to get involved even if the rest didn't.

"Why play at all, it doesn't affect us most of us?" Blaise said, as if it was most obviously thing to the world. "Only Muggleborns." He finished, causing Penny to shift uneasily, since she was only Muggleborn there, while several of his friends sent questionably looks at the boy, none more so than Daphne.

"Blaise, if it hasn't occurred to you yet, I have several friends who are first generation witches and wizards, like Penny here. You may be safe, but remember this, Mad-Eye was a Pureblood, that means Draco's nonsense about Muggleborns being the only targets is just that, nonsense. If you're an obstacle, you will be attacked, no matter what. What's to stop the heir from attacking you? You can sit on the sidelines and do nothing, but don't expect any of the rewards that come with it." Harry stated, annoyed at the Slytherin's dismissal of Muggleborns, sending a questioning look at Daphne.

"Well, I'll help even if Blaise here doesn't." Daphne said, "Lord Malfoy's been throwing his weight around for years, if this gives me a means to help knock the Malfoys down a couple knots I'll take it. Draco is insufferable enough already."

Tracy suddenly spoke up, "And my Mother is a Muggleborn witch too, so I'll help as well. So unless you want to help, why you don't get out of here?" The smaller Slytherin stated, showing a surprising amount of confidence. "It's bad enough I have to put up with all the blood status crap in the Common Room, I don't want it here. I'm sure everyone else here will agree me." She getting around of supporting nods, Tracy said heatedly, letting her mask fall.

"You staying or leaving? You can't refuse to make a cake and then expect a slice later." Harry said firmly, making it clear if he left, he wouldn't be getting back in.

"Fine, I'll stay." The boy spat.

"Now that that's been taken care of," He said, sending Blaise a look, which was ignored since the boy was too busy sulking. "We need to think of how we're going to deal with this so we can play it to our advantage, or at least prevent Lord Malfoy from profiting from it."

"Recover the artifact, or uncover the agent who is directing the attacks." Daphne said to room, pointedly not looking at Blaise.

"The simplest route, most of time, is the most effective one. Less chance of things backfiring, rather than having to deal with the whole cloaks and daggers." Tonks added.

"Well, I think we need to research it first." Harry said, adding his own piece, getting a snort from Blaise. "We don't know enough, and we need to remove possibilities. In addition, we need to watch for any off behavior around the school. I don't think Draco is the agent, but can you three keep an eye on him anyways?" He requested, looking at Slytherin trio.

"Sure, we'll keep an eye on him. You know, keep friends close and enemies closer thing, the rest of House maybe more difficult, but most of them just ignore second years, so we should be able to watch for anything amiss." Tracy said. "But, there around 50 of us, no matter how much we try we'll never be able to keep track of all our Housemates."

"That's fine, it's the same for everyone." He assured her, already knowing that it would be a tall order. "I'll get in contact with my information broker and see if they can find anything of use." He stated, already having the report in his trunk provided by Rita. "Penny and Padma, fancy joining me in Library to see if we can't find any records, or knowledge on the Chamber of Secrets that's been missed?" He asked his fellow Ravens, getting a couple of nods, though he personally doubted he would find anything useful.

Turning his attention to his cousin, who seemed to be waiting eagerly for her own tasks, he asked, "Tonks, can you keep an eye on the Puffs? The Prefects as well, since the 7th years have alot more freedom of movement than most students do."

"Sure, no one ever expects a Puff." She said with good humor. "Frankly I think I got easiest task here, Puffs stick together." She stated one of the House's unwritten rules. "If there's an issue with a Puff most of the House will know of it. We all look out for one or another, so we will know pretty quickly if it's a badger."

"Good. Likewise, those of us in Ravenclaw will keep an eye on things. I expect that Longbottom will get involve somehow. He was one who found Mad-Eye, as well as the message." He stated.

"Granger is already in the library scanning books and shelves for anything on the Chamber." Tracy admitted. "No doubt they'll take it upon themselves to play heroes just like last year." She added, reminding everyone of the previous year, and how Gryffindor House had almost stolen the House Cup.

"What about Gryffindor then, who'll watch them?" Blaise questioned, pointing out a hole all of them already knew, clearly trying to gain back some status he had lost so quickly earlier.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "Not much we can do really." He reluctantly admitted to the group, "Hopefully with Neville and his friends taking up the mystery, they'll watch for anything odd in their own house. Of course, they're naturally going to zoom in on Draco, since he was there when Moody was found." He said, remembering Neville, Dean, Seamus, and Ron, all believing Draco was responsible as they left Transfiguration yesterday.

"Oh great, we're the bad guys again." Tracy said melodramatically as the room shared amused looks.

"I'll talk to my sister." Padma spoke up, getting everyone attention. "Maybe she can help, and if I say it's a rumor that will get Lavender started, and she'll have it around the school in no time."

"It could work." Daphne nodded, "Be careful what you say though." She quickly added sternly.

Harry smiled at the different ideas, happy that the group was diverse enough to work so well. "Okay, we've got plans for how to deal with the lions." He said proudly. "Worst case, we can always discreetly drop them a hint, an owl with bits of information which could direct their attentions in the right direction, rather than chasing pointless shadows."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Daphne said skeptically.

"No, but it's an option if needs be. They don't need to know it's from us. In a couple years time, when it's all sorted, it could be used to gain a favor or two." He said, laying out the long term benefits. "We just have to give the information to the right person, who will remember the favor. Not someone like Ron, he's far too big headed to ever accept help from anyone, same goes for Neville. Maybe Granger, since she's a first generation and appears to be level headed, and I'm sure she will remember this."

**Midnight Gold**

Seeing as there were no other students around, Daphne asked her childhood friend, "Tracy, can you give me a couple minutes to talk to Blaise in private?" Stopping just outside a disused classroom. She didn't fancy having the upcoming chat in the Slytherin Common Room.

"Sure, I'll wait outside." Tracy answered in a tone that brooked no argument, moving to the opposite wall, looking down the corridor, keeping watch.

"Thank you," Daphne replied before opening the door, sending Blaise a look that very clearly demanded he follow her.

As soon the door was shut, Blaise started to say, "What is it you want to talk about?" as she cast a basic silencing charm at the door. She knew that her best friend wouldn't try to eavesdrop, but it was just a good habit to get into.

"Your behavior." She said plainly. "You were invited to join us because I said you would be an asset, someone who we could work with for mutual gain. I admit, it was also due to the contract my parents have signed with yours." She said, maintaining eye contract, weighing her words carefully, for the most powerful effect. "Hence why I wanted to invite you into the group, who are already gathering alliances and working together for mutual benefit. But at the moment you're being an idiot, and if you look like an idiot, _I_ look like an idiot, do you get that?" She said stressing the I part, letting her anger show at being taken as a fool.

"Hey! I'm not an-" Her hand striking his cheek interrupted him, stopping the excuse in its tracks.

"Yes, you are! You're acting like a Gryffindor." She snarled, sending one of the greatest insults there was to a Slytherin at the boy. "You're acting more like Ron with your careless words than you are the proper Slytherin you're supposed to be." She added, sending another volley at the boy.

Cooling her temper before she went too far, she continued after a deep breath. "We are Slytherins, we work toward reaching the top. Harry is the Heir to two very old and wealthy families, remember? You know, the Potters and the Blacks? Both of them hold a good number of votes in the Wizengamot. At the moment his guardian Sirius has the single most votes in the Wizengamot. His vote alone is worth the same as a small voting that you consider first generation Magicals are worthless, with 'Not my problem' causes issues." She said, giving him a cold stare as she controlled her emotion after her initial outburst.

"Harry's mum was a Muggleborn, so is Tracy's mum and Tonks father, and Tonks is now a Black. An alliance now with Harry puts us in a favorable position to gain more power later." She lectured, "It could help out our families right now, through Harry's relationship his godfather. Your family may not have any votes in Wizengamot, but a decade down the line he could be in a position to back you for a British Lordship, even without being married to me! You get that?" She asked, wondering if her contractual betrothed was dumb.

"Then you have Tonks, who will probably marry someone influential and powerful in the ministry or Wizengamot. And Penny is loyal to Harry, and with his backing will have no issue reaching a high office in the Ministry, and will probably end up marrying someone of influence as well. Padma's family is the second leading family in southern India, her father is ambassador to England. The Patil household may have no votes, but they control alot of trade coming in and out from southern India, as well possess the largest merchant fleet in India. Trading links _my_ own family could very well profit from in the future." She listed, recalling the files her mother had sent on both of her allies in the first year, as well the discussions she had with both her parents over the advantages of both friendships this past summer.

"Now do you understand? You have chance of becoming friends or at least allies with some big political players even before leaving Hogwarts. Harry will probably take up the Potter Lordship on his 14th birthday, and here you are causing problems and insulting him. That means my own family's interests are getting damaged by your idiocy. The way things are going, my parents will be having serious doubts about whether this marriage contract is even worth it." She admitted, getting his attention again. "And ultimately question whether you're a suitable match for me."

"So grow up, you may not like Harry personally, but surely you're capable enough to see the long term benefits of being an ally, rather than an enemy. Because frankly, in the future, he will be in position to bury you and your family if you are." She warned, before walking to the door.

Her cold mask back in place, she looked over her shoulder, "If you ever make a fool out of me again due to your own ego, you'll regret it. Make no mistake that you will."

"You done?" Tracy asked from where she was leaning on the opposite wall, watching the corridor.

"Yes, I just had to talk some sense into Blaise." Daphne stated before heading off to Slytherin Common Room, not waiting for her contracted to catch up.

**Midnight Gold**

Walking up to this dorm room, he wondering what Penny wanted to talk about since she was following him. He whispered his password, causing the portrait to open, allowing him access to his room. Scanning the room, noticing nothing amiss, the two ward monitoring stones humming peacefully, confirming that no one had been in his room since he left, he turned to Penny.

"So, what's up?" He ask as he dumped himself on the bed, Serenity landing on his arm as he went about stroking her feathers, and picking out any loose or damage ones. The loose ones, if they were in good condition, he later planned to use for his arrows. He wanted to find out if different feathers had any effect of how the arrow flew, or acted. After all, Serenity was a highly magical owl, and owl's were top predators who flew silently in the night, so how would her feathers effect his arrows? Would they fly silently? And how would something like a phoenix feather affect his arrows?

Penny was smiling as she answered, clearly happy about the night's events, "Just wanted to thank you for sticking up for me back there, and welcoming me into the group."

"No problem." He said easily as he went about storing Serenity's feathers. Penny made to leave the room, but Harry stopped her. "It's up to you to prove I'm right, Daphne is cold person, but she will warm up to you. She just has no time for fools. Be careful around her, she's manipulative, and will play you to her advantage." He said, giving her a warning and realizing at the same time, he and Daphne were very similar in how they acted. "That said, if you're talented and don't pull her strings, she will warm up to you, eventually." He said with smile.

"Thanks for advice." She replied.

"Daphne is in the early stages of marriage contract with Blaise, by the way." He revealed, surprising his friend. "Their families are business partners. The contract is in the extremely early stages, not a sealed deal as such, as many people would believe. They follow the older style of contract, which has four stages, with the 4th being the actual marriage. You could say they're at the stage of testing the waters, to see if they are suitable for each other before progressing to the second stage, only at stage 3 is the contract signed."

"Oh, I thought marriage contracts were a signed and seal deal." The sixth year Ravenclaw answered as she sat back down on his bed, clearly interested in learning more about either Daphne, or marriage contracts.

"Sort of, some families just jump to stage four. So it's a signed and sealed deal and their kids get married as soon as they're out of school. Most of time these are really old school households, or it's just because their certain that it's an alliance that they really want or need. But some prefer their children get a suitable match, so at least the pair don't hate each other and have a chance of some real happiness... After all, it's bad for their house's prospects if part of their family unit what can't function." He explained, recalling the information easily enough from books he found in library and Daphne and Padma own input.

"And that's why she ignored Blaise after his comment. You can bet she'll have words with him before the next meeting." He said with complete certainty. "Probably include a threat or two, if I know her, since he's only in the group due to Daphne vouching for him."

"She reacted? I didn't notice anything different."

"She did, she's already in the early stages of mind arts, like us. She has received basic training since the age of 7, so her control is amazing, but if you know her you can see she was quite angrily." He explained, remembering the emotions he could feel radiating of the cold Slytherin, knowing he was properly only one who could read Daphne besides Tracy.

"Anything else?" Penny probed, showing her Ravenclaw side.

"Her family is everything to her, don't endanger that, otherwise she's a model Slytherin in many respects."

"Okay, thanks for the advice. So what are you going to do now?" She asked from her spot on his bed, eyeing the number of books he was carrying.

"I was going to review some of the material I got from Sirius." He answered, handing her one of the books, "They're about detecting, tracking, and trapping an Animagi." He noticed that she was shocked by this, and couldn't blame her for it. Animagi were a rather rare skill branch of magic, due to the commitment and skill needed to become one.

It wasn't a bloodline ability, though it was commonly believed that it was easier to become one if another member of your family was one. Not that there was much proof, since there had never been a published study of the ability, since it would require several generations to complete, under near impossible conditions.

However, almost anyone could learn it, but most just weren't capable since it took several years, in most cases over half a decade, of continuous work. Most wizards considered it beneath them to become an animal, too. So knowledge of how to detect one, track and trap one was even rarer, and tightly controlled by the Ministry of Magic, so counters couldn't be developed. Hence such forbidden and rare knowledge was something any Ravenclaw would jump at, even if it would never be of use.

"Pass it here then." She semi-demanded as her eyes examined the books, before taking the top book from the pile in his arms.

Suppressing a smile, he asked innocently, "You sure? Don't you have to study for your Newts?" As he moved to sit next to her.

"Yes, I'm sure." She said distractedly as she scanned the content page. "I need to get my note pad." Getting up from her spot on the bed.

"Here." He supplied instantly, handing her one of his general purpose note pads with a quill.

"Thanks."

**Quidditch Match Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff**

Letting his thoughts flow clearly and swiftly as he meditated on one of the benches in the changing room, he cleared away dust from his codex, centering himself for the upcoming game. Exhaling, he waited for the rest of the team to arrive. He planned to make this game ruthlessly quick if Ravenclaw wanted any chance at the Quidditch Cup. After all, Ravenclaw's Chasers were by far the weakest of the 4 House Teams, and it didn't help that Roger was a by the book kind of guy, not in the sense of the rules, but the plays he chose.

_'Speed, I need to be quick.'_ Was the single thought he had as he meditated in his Quidditch gear.

"Where's Potter? What do you mean he's not in the dorm rooms? If he not down here in 5 minutes he'll be off the team, and Chang will play. I don't care if he got us all new brooms." Roger's voice rang through the room.

His eyes still closed, he drawled from his position, "You know Roger, they're not your brooms, they're the _House's_ brooms. I suggest you remember that fact, and that I earned my place on the team, fair and square." Making the team jump as they just realized he was there.

"There you are Potter, where have you been?" The angry captain demanded, making him wondering if Roger had been expose to the Draught of Rage recently.

"Here, in this very spot, since 9 o'clock." Harry replied with a hint of condescension. "I've been meditating in the peace and quiet. Now would you be so kind as keep your voice down, it's awfully annoying and distracting." He shot back, not in mood for playing nice.

"You're supposed to sit with the House to go over the game plan." Roger countered, or tried to at least.

"I'm the Seeker, I catch the Snitch. Any other actions I take would need to be on the spot, the best you could do was tell me something general, like 'Disrupt the enemy Chasers.' or ' Don't get nailed by Bludgers.'."

Harry cracked open an eye and sent a dry look at the Ravenclaw Captain. "I would also like to point out that having a team meeting in the Great Hall over breakfast, _where everyone can hear you_, seems awfully stupid." Roger probably said something, but Harry blocked him out as he sank back into his mental state.

"It's time!" Edward called an unknown amount of time later, shaking his shoulder firmly. Harry went about doing a quick stretch before following the teammates out through the exit tunnel, broom in hand.

He stood behind Jones in the lineup, they mounted their brooms, ready to take to the skies. Roger kicked off first, zooming out of the tunnel as the rest of the team followed him out of the tunnel behind the captain as their names were announced to the stadium. Ravenclaw side started to cheer as their team entered the stadium, the team doing a lap around the pitch before facing off against their opposite numbers.

"Good Luck," Cedric stated confidently "You'll need it." As Madam Hooch walked up to them and stated firmly "I want a nice clean game." Already knowing that this game was going to be the cleanest match up of the session.

**In the Stands**

"I wonder what Cedric said to Harry?" Tonks asked aloud, watching her cousin face off against her own House Seeker.

"I don't think it will matter much, Tonks." Penny answered from next to her. They were in the middle of the connecting benches for both house teams, "He's got his game face on."

"Who do you think will win ladies? It's their first match, for both of them." Percy said from behind, catching them both by surprise at his sudden appearance, as well several other students who were sitting nearby.

"I would of course like Harry to win, I'm a Ravenclaw after all," Penny answered cheerfully, feeling more confidence in how to handle her year mate than she did the previous year, now that they weren't sharing classes, and no longer shared prefect rounds every couple of nights.

"But Cedric's got the starting advantage, since the Snitch just took off behind Harry." Tonks noted, "My cousin was training several hours a day for most of the summer. As soon as he gets his eyes of the prize, he's a bit like a hound dog."

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Penny added as the game started.

"What about you Percy?" Tonks asked as the players took off.

"Don't mind really, never really cared for game outside of House pride." The stiff lion said, catching them all by surprise since every Weasley they knew were die hard Quidditch fans.

"Go, Go Ravenclaw! Go, Go Ravenclaw!" The Ravenclaw students suddenly started to chant as the Chasers started their attack on the badger's goals, successfully taking the goal keeper by surprise at both the attack, and sudden burst of noise from his left as the first goal of game was scored.

"Lucky shot." Tonks grumbled, not unkindly, causing her fellow students laugh at the comment. "Any idea where Daphne, Tracy, and Blaise are?" She suddenly asked, wondering where the trio were.

"Oh they're in the Slytherin stands." Padma answered from behind as she took a seat behind her with her charm Omnoculars at the ready, pointing in the direction of the trio.

"Why?" Tonks responded, wondering why they weren't sitting together supporting her cousin.

"You know Slytherins, it's all about positioning and status. They won't openly sit with Ravenclaw unless they're sure that we'll win. To do otherwise they risk losing status by backing the wrong horse. It's all internal House politics, with Draco openly supporting Cedric. If Cedric loses, Draco loses status, because he backed the wrong player." Padma explained. Penny just nodded along, already knowing that Slytherin house was full of political maneuverings even at such a young age. "While they may not be sitting with us, it's common knowledge that they're friends with Harry, so they stand to gain if he wins, though not too much, since they aren't openly supporting us. Though this method means they can dismiss it as Harry being only a second year."

Percy and Tonks looked baffled at the sheer ridiculousness of the political games, but Padma was paying attention to the game. "Look, he's seen the snitch!" She shouted, causing the whole stand to focus back on the game.

Diving down in a faint, gathering speed as he shot towards the ground, Harry swooped into the surprised badger Chaser line, interrupting their attacking run, while Cedric follow behind him, causing further disruption to his own teammates, rather than risking it was a faint and possibly lose the game. Harry skillfully flew through the opposition's left goal post, distracting the Keeper as Roger lead another counter attack, followed by his wingman, or wingwomen, in this case, Jones supported her captain.

"30-0 in Ravenclaw's favor!" Jordan cried, spurring the Ravenclaw into a cheering frenzy.

Looking over to his rival Seeker, who seemed rattled from the near miss with his own Keeper after Harry's mad drive, he gave a two finger salute and quoted the boy's earlier line, "Good luck, you'll need it." before shooting off down the pitch, noticing a flash of gold in the air, the tell tale sign of the Snitch, before his rival could come back with a retort just as a Bludger went through the air he'd been moment earlier, snapping the Puff attention back to game, just before it hit him.

Unfortunately, the Snitch disappeared, by the time he'd flown around the pitch as he dodged another Bludger sent his way by the enemy Beaters, causing him to dive, once again gaining speed towards the ground, snatching everyone attention at his sudden action. He mentally sighed, _'This is going to be a long game...'_ He thought as he started flying around the pitch in a figure of eight search pattern, diving into plays at random, and just trying to cause some panic and give his team the advantage.

Half an hour later he finally manage to lock onto the snitch. As he zoomed after it with Cedric in chase, the snitch turned randomly back into the center of the field, flying straight through an active play, before pulling another tight turn back towards the stands. Finally, the Snitch dove towards the ground, causing both of them to follow after it.

"120–100 in Ravenclaw's favor." Lee Jordan reported in background, before the Snitch banked again across the pitch, climbing steadily upwards.

Harry pulled up hard, following the Snitch into the clouds. The air became thinner as they climbed steadily higher, the sounds of the students fading as his breath turned to mist, condensing on his glasses. Harry was far too focused to be annoyed as the Snitch once more changed trajectory, diving straight toward the earth, giving Cedric the advantage as both players dived after it.

Harry followed right behind Cedric as the fifth year started pulling away due to his weight giving him an advantage in the freefall. As he inched forward in the downward spiral, the earth's gravity started to take effect, accelerating them to higher speeds. The wind pounded into his face and through his hair, but he continued in hot purist after his rival seeker.

Harry had one small advantage, his glasses, which helped keep the wind out of his eyes, stopping them from watering up as he slowly gained; it was clear the Puff was suffering from the lack of vision as he struggle to fly straight, allowing Harry to close the distance to less than a broom's length._ 'Next time I'll wear goggles' _Harry promised himself, wondering why more players didn't wear them.

Seeing an opening and a flash of gold, he jumped neck to neck with Cedric, his senses seemingly going into overdrive as he was deafened by the howling wind. He persevered, staying the course groundward, his hand stretching out, ready to snatch the Snitch.

It suddenly jerked to the side, causing both Seekers to follow, with Harry once again being in the lead due to Cedric's vision impaired.

A Bludger shot past him, grazing his shoulder, but Harry ignored it and continued reaching for the golden ball. The wind caused his hand to rock from side to side, but he held as steady as he could as he rapidly approached striking distance. The Snitch braked again, zooming past his head, causing him to air break, flipping over, with his rival pulling the same maneuver as the ground past beneath him, causing them to be neck to neck for second before Harry pulled away due to his lesser weight and smaller frame as he flattened himself against the broom.

"140-150, Hufflepuff takes the lead!" He heard in the background, causing his heart to pound faster as the Snitch banked again, heading towards the staff box. They flew less than a meter above their fellow students heads, suddenly dodging to either side of Hagrid's head as the ground keeper attempted to get out of their way.

He felt a short, sharp pain in his foot, but he quickly blocked it out, raising mental barriers around the pain as he reached out with his good hand. Sparing a second to look over his shoulder to see he had good two brooms length on his rival, he leaned forward, extending his reach, before striking out, his fingers locking around the familiar metal object, which stiffened in his grasp, causing him to instantly pull up, holding his hand high to world.

"Harry Potter caught the Snitch, Ravenclaw wins!" Rang over the stadium which burst out into cheers for most part. "290 to 170!" The announcer continued as the stadium began to celebrate.

He drifted down to the ranks of his team mates, who were celebrating their win. Putting some weight on his foot he felt a spike of pain, and promptly remembered hitting something when he passed over one of the boxes.

The school matron came over to check on everyone, only to notice him flinch at the pain in his foot and rush over to him first. "Mr. Potter hold still." She instructed, flicking her wand. "You've a fractured ankle, and shoulder." She recited what her scanning spells were telling her, giving a summary of his injuries. "Such a brutal sport." She said none too quietly, which was ignored by all the players.

"Attention, Attention!" The Headmaster's voice rang over the grounds, followed by a cannon blast, getting everyone's attention. "I'd like to reward 20 points to both Seekers for such an exciting chase. I think all of us were on the edge of our seats from the stunts you were pulling. I must say, I think you gave Hagrid a scare." He said joyfully, his cheerfulness flowing over the pitch as the student body laughed, while the school resident half-giant blushed. "In addition, Professor Hooch has asked me to reward 40 points to each team for a clean game." The aged educator said proudly, looking down at the referee who seemed to be beaming.

Even with the matron bothering him, Harry couldn't help but smile as the students cheered. No doubt he'd just move up on the student pecking order.

**End of Chapter**


	28. Y2 Watchful

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its character, those** belong to J.K. Rowling.

**Rated M For safe, and mature themes** - Unsure if this will contain lemons since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings yet.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note:** Chapters 7 and 9 have been rewritten and updated with new improved copies... Also note chapter 29 is being beta atm, and hopefully be posted shortly.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 28: Watchful**

**Posted 29th Match 2013**

**Revised and Beta by: Slicerness and Joe Lawyer**

"My Lord." Rita said in greeting, flashing him a smile as she stepped forward out of the shadows, letting her outer robe fall open, revealing that she was wearing a style of outfit similar to ones he had chosen for her during the summer in preparation for Sirius' court case.

Returning the smile, he privately suspected that her motivation for wearing such an outfit was solely for his approval and hoping to get in his good books, but the question was why? He could simply ask her and get a straight answer due to the magical bindings forcing her honesty, but where was the challenge in that? "You have the items that I requested?" He asked, getting straight down to business since he had a limited amount of time before other students and professors noticed that he was missing from the castle.

"Of course, just as you requested," she answered, while handing him a brown leather shoulder bag that looked a bit like a handbag, but at the same time, didn't.

Letting his smile grow he quickly went through the bag, checking that it had the necessary materials he needed to craft a ward, "Good job." He complimented, looking up at the reporter, "I'll have Bloodmoon transfer the gold you paid for this." He patted the bag. "Along with something a little extra for your troubles." He finished generously, since Rita had come through for him awfully quickly, and it only made sense to encourage such actions by rewarding such efforts.

"Thank you, you're most generous." She said demurely, clearly trying to keep him pleased with her.

"I reward people who do well." He replied simply, looking over his shoulder as he heard noise, just to see some distracted wizard walk by the alleyway entrance, paying the pair no notice at all. "I think I may have to get you a Christmas present this year."

Grinning proudly, she added "My Lord, I didn't have to pay for it." stepping forward more.

"You didn't steal it, did you?" He asked carefully. He didn't want to steal someone's livelihood. Plus, he didn't want the Ministry to get involved, since Rita's value to him was her ability and discretion, without that he had little need of her. After all, there were other reporters.

"Oh no, not as such." She replied, but before she could say anymore they heard voices growing louder, causing them both to slip into the shadows as more shoppers passed on by, as they waited in silence.

"Maybe a privacy charm or ward?" He suggested, causing Rita to start flicking her wand for 30 seconds, muttering a string of enchantments under her breath.

She put her wand away before carrying on with her explanation, "I just happened to have some dirt on a Ministry warder and he proved more than willing to provide me with the items to meet your requirements."

"Well, that saves a bit of gold." He admitted, before examining her, "You took the necessary precautions?"

"Of course, it's not my first time trying my hand at a bit of blackmail over the years."

"It seems I underestimated you, Rita." He said, deciding to keep a closer eye on his reporter.

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

Reaching into her handbag and pulling out a file filled with aged parchment she answered, "Just this." handing him the file.

"What am I looking at?" He said, taking the offered file before he started flipping through the documents.

"Madam Umbridge has just been appointed Undersecretary by the new Minister of Magic. She's very anti-creature in her beliefs, she's a career politician for the most part, and she's followed Minister Fudge from position to position as he advanced up the ladder. However, early on in her career some thirty years ago she was caught up in a bit of a scandal."

"Which was?" He inquired, looking over the documents, interested in learning as much as possible about the new ministry power players. Looking at the provided photo, he decided that she looked rather like a toad, less than average height and... why pink? Looking at her choice of outfit, he surprisingly found a more horrible outfit than Rita's green... thing. He read her Hogwarts' exam result scores, finding she was an average witch at best, nothing special really, before moving on to the teacher notes on her extreme anti-creature views.

"Her boss and father were caught illegally hunting werewolves. Evidence shows that they would pick werewolves up off the street and dump them in warded reserves and hunted them as sport." Rita explained, turning her nose up in disgust. "Turns out, they ran a business of providing 'game' for hunters as far as reports shows. Their lands and title were forfeited, but whispers remain that our dear undersecretary was involved in the whole business."

He closed the file, disgusted at what he was being told. Killing a werewolf was fine as far as he was concerned, as long as you were in real danger, but for sport? That was just wrong.

"Interesting, I would like you to keep an eye on her if possible, and discreetly discredit her without appearing to be openly hostile." He ordered, since Remus was living with Sirius, and as much as he disliked the guy, he was Sirius' best friend. He would send a copy of the file to Sirius later so he could keep eye on her as well. After all, he was only a second-year; it wasn't his job to do all this work. He was just gaining intel on government players. "Any dirt you find on her put in a file, it might be useful for later."

"Of course, I just thought I would make you aware, you did task me with protecting your interests as well as your allies." She said, referring back to the bank.

"Yes, thank you." He answered back, shrinking the file and placing it his robes.

"Is there anything else you need of me?" She said, her voice turning sultry as she moved into his personal space, "Anything at all I can help you with?"

"Not right now. However, I may require you in the next couple of weeks." He planned on testing the Animagus Wards on the annoying reporter. "Now I think we're both done for today, and I need to return to school before I'm missed." He then called things to a close before walking down the alleyway to slip back into the pub to use the hidden passageway to get back into the school.

Before he left the alley he looked over his shoulder, "Rita, I approve of the outfit." He complimented, finding her far more bearable when dressing in sensible colors. Now he just had to slip back into school before DADA began. He half considered skipping the lesson, before deciding it would draw too much attention to him.

**Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom**.

"Mr. Potter, would you care to assist me with a demonstration. I need someone to play the part of a vampire." The DADA professor instructed under the guise of a question.

Mentally groaning at the request, before answering as nicely as possible "No, thank you sir." He answered, hating the Professor's sudden new interest in him, as the rest of the male population sniggered.

"Come on, don't be shy." The professor said, not taking a polite 'no' for an answer as the sniggers became less discreet.

Quickly coming up with an excuse, he rattled off, "I'm afraid I can't sir, Matron's orders, you understand." faking regret in his voice.

"Oh?" Was all the professor managed to say, clearly not expecting that excuse, as the rest of class watched the unfolding display.

"I injured my ankle and shoulder in the Quidditch game, the school nurse ordered me to stay off of it as much as possible and not undertake anything too physically demanding." He answered quickly, giving the teacher a plausible excuse.

"Oh..." The ponce replied, clearly disappointed at the news.

"However if you're looking for volunteers, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy were quite eager to try a bit of acting themselves. They even practiced while they were waiting for you to arrive for class." He said, with a barely hidden smirk, causing the professor to beam at the news and turn his attention towards the mentioned students, who seemed to pale, since they had been openly mocking the professor rather than acting. "Ron happens to do a very good impression of a troll, and Draco was quite insistent that he could do a better Vampire impersonation than anyone in the castle." Harry added fuel to the fire, smirking openly as the Professor's attention was directed elsewhere.

"Excellent, I didn't know we had two such talented performers in our class!" Lockhart said loudly, smiling brightly, flashing his sparkling smile, the same smile that had won Witch Weekly's most charming smile contest over 5 times. "Come on boys, let's put on a show for the class!"

The boys stayed frozen in their seats, "Come on don't be shy, modestly is always a good quality, but witches like some confidence too." He ranted, pulling Ron out of his seat before he could protest, before doing the same to Draco.

"Talk amongst yourselves class, while I tell these two fine lads," He patted them on their shoulders, "What they need to do!"

The pair shot Harry hateful looks, but Harry ignored them easily.

"Damn, that was quick thinking." Terry said, leaning in so it wasn't overheard.

"What can I say, we Claws are known for our quick minds and sharp wits." He replied under his breath, just loud enough for his surrounding housemates to hear. The rest of the lesson passed with new levels of amusement, as both Ron and Draco displayed their amazing acting skills to the class.

Halfway through the performance Padma leaned in and asked, "You know they're going to get you back for this?" mildly concerned as the boys kept shooting him hateful looks.

"Yeah, but what's a prank or two going to hurt? Besides, Draco already hates me and frankly it's the least of my current concerns." He whispered back, "Just do me a favor and watch my back when we're in the halls, I'm not going to make it easy for them."

Padma nodded back and they fell back into silence as they watched the show. As they were leaving class Harry heard Pansy say to Draco, "Draco, you made a dashing vampire! You got off lightly compared to Weasley though, even Longbottom was laughing at his friend." The Slytherin girl said, trying to provide some level of comfort.

"Shut up, Pansy!" Malfoy snapped heatedly as he stormed off with the girl in tow.

"I really don't know why she puts up with him..." He observed, watching the exchange, wondering if she could be used to get another pair of eyes in the snake pit.

"Don't bother." The smooth and subtle voice of Daphne said from behind him, "Her parents are in the middle of negotiating a marriage contract with Lord Malfoy." She explained, answering both his questions with one statement.

"Oh, unlucky her." He joked, getting a giggle from Tracy and Padma. "What's the reason behind it then?" He probed further, as they started walking to the library to start their homework.

"Lord Parkinson has never been as powerful or as influential as Lord Malfoy, as far as I know, but he's respected by his peers. He could never be the top man himself, but he has the means to help place his heiress in that position." Daphne explained.

Blaise jumped in, carrying on Daphne's explanation in a show of unity, "Lord Malfoy probably wants to secure an ally. From what we've been hearing his faction is coming apart and Lord Nott is challenging him continuously. Draco and Theo are even starting to take shots at each other." He revealed.

"And Lord Parkinson is in the middle, effectively, of the pair, waiting to take the best offer." He finished.

"Interesting." Harry replied succinctly.

"Very interesting." Tracy added, keeping her voice low.

"Not really." Daphne said dismissively. "Lord Malfoy tried reaching out to my family, trying to arrange a marriage contract for Draco, for either myself or with my sister." The girl sniffed in disgust. "Thankfully, my parents turned it down."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Blaise demanded, clearly taken by surprise at the sudden news.

"I just found out this morning." Daphne replied icily, her persona changing instantly.

Processing all the new information and reaching the conclusion that Pansy was a write off for the foreseeable future unless something changed, Harry glanced over at Blaise. The boy seemed to have some new fire to him, clearly not liking the idea of his roommate trying to snatch his tentative girl from behind his back. 'Looks like Theo may have just gotten himself a temporary ally. The enemy of my enemy is my friend fits this situation perfectly.'

His musings were cut short as they entered the Library, just in time to see a middle-aged Auror chatting away with the Librarian as they walked past.

The rest of the day passed effortlessly on his part, no major crisis occurring, as the school started to relax again as the Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch match rapidly approached. Naturally the halls got a bit more lively, jinxes and hexes flying freely between the teams and the more ardent Quidditch fans of the two Houses. The only major bit of gossip in the school halls was the news of the formation of a Duelling Club, which stirred up the students' excitement. Unfortunately it was being lead by their fraud of a teacher, who was growing increasingly unpopular as the students started to realize that they weren't actually learning anything.

He was telling all this to his godfather as they chatted over the mirrors for the first time in a week. "It's great to hear you won your game pup."

"Thanks, but I need to be serious for a second. Have you heard of Delores Umbridge?" He asked, remembering Rita's information.

He watched his Godfather shift, frowning at the name, "I recognize it, I think she's the new undersecretary if I recall, just came to power with the new Minister in this summer's elections."

"That's correct, but there's something you may want to be aware of; she's extremely anti-creature in her views. Her father was caught hunting and killing werewolves for sport. Evidence suggests that she was involved, but never charged. I did a bit of digging on her, turns out that she was dismissed from the creature control department for being too overzealous. I can't find any reports though, since they've conveniently gone missing." He explained to his now frowning Godfather, who clearly saw the possible danger the new Undersecretary presented. "She probably arranged for them to be destroyed at some point before this summer elections."

"Thanks for the information; I'm sure Remus will be touched that you care for his safety." Grinning broadly at the news.

"No, I'm looking out for you." He said, which caused the man's smile to dim. "I don't like Remus, but he's important to you, and he was to my father. I just thought I would give you a heads up so that you can keep an eye out for him. The sad fact is that he's a weak link that any of our enemies could use against us."

"Thanks." Sirius said anyways, ignoring Harry's comment about enemies.

"No problem." He said easily, before adding, "By the way, the books you sent me are very useful. I'm already in the process of crafting the beginning runes for the first ward trap."

"Good to hear. Now what about your Animagus form?" Sirius asked.

Smiling fondly at the subject, he answered proudly, "It's a bird, I'm sure of it now. At the current rate of progress I expect by Christmas I'll know what species it is. Hopefully by the end of my third year I'll be able to fully transform."

"Nice, I always wondered what it would be like to have wings."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to flying with Serenity," He agreed, looking over to his sleeping owl.

"Oh, by the way, Pup. Remus has been asked by Albus to teach DADA at Hogwarts next year. I don't know if he will, but thought you would want to know." His godfather said casually, as if they were discussing the weather rather than a werewolf teaching in a school full of kids.

"That's going to be... interesting." Was all he managed to say, not knowing how to feel about the man teaching at his school. "Do you know what Remus happens to specialize in? Curses and Spells? Dark Creatures? Cursed Items? Combat and Duelling?" He asked, already guessing it would be Dark Creatures, but wanting to confirm his deduction.

"Dark Creatures, and how to protect against them. In the war Remus was often in contact with the different groups of creatures, such as the vampires and the werewolves, not that it did much good."

"Alright, thanks for the information." He answered, making a mental note to leave any more reading about dark creatures until next year. However much he disliked Remus, he was more than willing to admit that the man was smart and capable from what he had seen. And frankly there was little point in studying the material now in any more depth, beyond what he already had if he was going to spend all of next year learning about them from an expert.

"Just so you know, I've got a surprise planned for Christmas, I hope you like it."

He briefly wondered what his godfather had planned before there was a knock at the door, "Okay, I need to get going, take care."

"You too, Pup." Sirius said in parting before the mirror turned back into its normal reflective surface.

**Saturday Morning**

The next couple days passed by rapidly as he worked on his different projects, his Animagus Ward Web Trap was developing well, and should be completed by the end of the weekend, since he had arranged to have the whole of Sunday off so he could finish engraving the runes for it.

But for now, he was sitting in the stands, getting ready to enjoy the upcoming Quidditch match.

"Damn, it's cold!" Padma complained, her hot breath visible in the cold morning air as they waited for the game to start.

"Yeah, winter is coming, just be grateful you're not playing, it's even worse with the wind chill." He replied as he pulled out his wand, and cast a simple Warming Charm on them both, which would hopefully last for the duration of the game.

"Thanks, I don't know how you can get up at 6 in the morning to run when it's this damn cold."

"Warming charms to start with for the first 10 minutes or so, but as soon as you get your blood pumping you don't really need them anymore." He shrugged, feeling better now that the warming charms were starting to take effect. "You should try it."

She shook her head vigorously, "No thanks, I like my warm cozy bed."

Chuckling at her instant refusal he scanned the stands, looking for his other friends. He saw Penny was sitting with her year-mates, with Terry talking with Michael, Steven and Anthony, but Kevin was missing for whatever reason. He didn't have much contact with Michael, Steven and Kevin, since they mainly kept to themselves, preferring to hang back in the shadows.

The two second-years still hadn't gotten over the events of the first year when he refused to help them with their studies. Terry spent most of his free time with Anthony, who seemed to be an okay bloke overall, but for whatever reason they failed to get along. They could work together effectively in class, but they just had different views about everything. 'Oh well,' he mentally noted, after all he couldn't be friends with everyone, that would be impossible, nor did he want to be since that would be counterproductive in the long run. Plus, he was more than happy with his current friends, since they offered something in return, which benefited him.

He scanned the rest of the Ravenclaw stands and found Cho and her friend Marietta were up to something as two balls of water collected on the tip of their wands. As soon as the spell was finished charging they threw the balls of water at someone. His eyes tracked the spell as they sailed through the air and eventually splashed onto a small blonde-haired Ravenclaw girl sitting by herself, soaking the back of her robe. The girl turned around to see who was responsible for the attack. He recognized the girl as Luna Lovegood, the rather unique first year with dirty blonde hair coming down to her waist.

Luna clearly knew who was responsible since her eyes were resting firmly on her attackers, Cho and Marietta. The two older girls were now playing innocent, pretending to gossip, but they had a smug look about them as their eyes flickered down to the first year before she turned back to the game, her hands running though her hair trying to get out some of the water.

Only for another two balls of water to hit her, causing the first year's head to spin around with a surprising amount of speed, catching the pair trying to hide their wands. He wondered how this was going to play out.

"That was cruel of them." Padma said lowly, having been watching the same thing he was.

He kept his eye on the first year as he replied, "It seems Chang has found her target." He stated, referring to their first year discussion about Chang being a bully, and wondering if he should get involved. He did owe the first year a favor, and he always repaid his debts.

"She must be freezing now." Padma said as the first year tried to dry herself unsuccessfully, clearly not knowing the necessary charms.

"I hate bullies." He mentioned quietly, remembering his cousin, who would often do similar things to him. He weighed the pros and cons of helping the girl, finding a very unbalanced choice between the two.

"We should help her." Padma said, clearly feeling for the girl.

He found himself agreeing with her, but thought it was necessary to play devil's advocate, "We should, but you know Cho could just set her sights on us if we do. Not that I'm too worried about her, she's a small fish in the grand scheme of my concerns."

Padma seemed to straighten up, "I'm not worried about Chang. Plus it gives us a chance to keep an eye on her, after all you said to watch for any odd behavior, and she is definitely odd." She countered with fierce confidence.

He smiled at his friend, wondering if Padma had swapped with her sister for the day, "Alright, stay here; I'll go and talk to her." He said, standing up. Padma nodded, sending him a bright happy smile before he left, walking down a couple flights of stairs and over to where the first-year Ravenclaw was sitting. He slid in next to her, greeting the girl kindly. "Hi Luna."

"Good morning, Harry." Luna said dreamily.

"Padma and I were wondering if you wanted to join us, rather than sitting by yourself." He asked, leaning in and saying in a quieter voice, "We saw what Chang and her friend are up to."

"You shouldn't get involved, they'll just aim at you too." She said seriously, "They'll grow bored as soon as the game starts."

"She already hates me, so I don't care." He replied easily, standing up and offering his hand to her. "You can either sit here, or you can try to do something about it."

She looked at him for a moment, "It would be nice to have someone to sit with; it would be almost like having friends."

His mind processed her statement as he flicked his wand at her, casting a drying charm on her robes and her dirty blonde hair, followed by a warming charm on her robes.

He led her back to where Padma was sitting, "Padma, you remember Luna, Luna, this is my best friend Padma." He introduced, getting a blush from his friend, since it was the first time he had voiced their friendship status out loud.

"Here." He said, gesturing at the seat next to Padma. When the blond sat down he sat on the other side of her, the two older students acting like bodyguards for the younger girl.

He glanced back up at Cho and her friend, absently throwing up a basic magical shield behind his, Luna, and Padma's backs, as a pair of water balls splashed harmlessly upon the barrier. He saw Cho's eyes narrow and the spells on their wands dissipate. Chang may be a favorite with their Head of House, but he was very much the overall favorite at the moment, and frankly he had a lot more weight to throw around than the Asian girl. He turned his attention back to the pitch.

He turned just in time to see the Gryffindor team come flying out at top speed, circling the pitch with Neville getting the biggest cheer of all. He noticed all them were using the new brooms he and his godfather had bought, "This is going to be interesting. How long do you think it takes until the first foul?"

"Three minutes." Padma said without hesitation.

"Hey guys, do you mind if me and the guys join you?" Terry said, while sitting down in the row behind them, not waiting for a response.

Seeing that Terry had already sat down, he canceled his shield since the boy had just volunteered to take its place if Cho and Marietta tried to throw another volley of water at Luna. "Sure, why not." Harry replied with a hint of a vindictive smile.

"Do you know why the matches were rearranged so that we had the first match of the season against the puffs and not snakes and Lions?" Terry wondered.

"No, but I agree it is a bit odd." Steven voiced, since Quidditch was a safe topic amongst this group.

Harry took it upon himself to answer. "Draco was practicing a snake summoning charm," He started, causing the group to listen with interest. "Unfortunately he got bit on the ass a couple of times and couldn't sit down on his broom." Harry allowed himself to chuckle along with the resulting outbreak of laughter as the knowledge was spread through the stands like a wave.

"Language, Harry." Padma scolded playfully, having accepted a long time ago that it was one of his faults.

"Gryffindor will definitely win this; Draco only just barely managed to catch the snitch in the last couple of training sessions. That was another reason why Snape pressured for the matches to be rearranged. Their Seeker is utter crap, combined with them losing Troy from their Chaser line, things weren't looking good. On a good note though, Troy himself, from what I've heard, is being scouted for the Irish Greens."

"Damn it." Anthony exclaimed.

"Language, Anthony." Padma repeated dutifully.

"Yes Mother." Anthony replied blandly, causing more laughter.

"Why hasn't Draco been replaced if he's that bad then?" Steven asked from his position behind the three.

He almost rolled his eyes at the question. "Snape is Draco's Godfather, remember? Would you willingly cross Snape?" He asked back.

He got an instant response of, "Hell no!" getting some chuckles at his over-the-top answer.

"That and the fact that Draco is the only reason they got new brooms and they don't have time to train a new Seeker, even if Flint did decide to replace the boy. Besides, Flint is just about to graduate; do you think he's going to risk upsetting Draco when the boy's father could make life really difficult outside school?"

"Is that him in the teacher's box?" Anthony asked, gesturing toward the teacher's box.

Seeing the familiar intimidating presence of Lord Malfoy in the box, he answered, "I believe it is Anthony. Word of advice, he's a 'reformed' Death Eater, so be careful around him." He cautioned while wondering if the Lord was truly here to watch his son play, or find out more about the progress of his most recent scheme. It was a shame Rita wasn't there to spy on him.

**After The Game**

"Longbottom played well, better than all of last year actually, even with the Bludgers seeming to come solely after him." Terry commented before discreetly looking at Harry. "You worried Harry?"

Honestly he felt a bit sorry for the Gryffindor Seeker, having to spend a whole night in the hospital wing after the incompetent DADA professor vanished his bones by mistake, "No, he lucked out with that catch, and the fact that Malfoy was too busy laughing to notice the Snitch was right behind him for nearly a whole minute." He answered, shaking his head at the Slytherin Seeker's stupidity.

"However, I will admit that Longbottom is a better player than Malfoy was. Anyways, I'll see you guys in a bit." He said before turning his attention to the quiet Luna, who seemed to have blended into the background and was wearing a dreamy expression. "Luna, if you need a hand with anything you just have to ask." He offered, reminding everyone that the first-year was still there.

Not getting a response, and not really expecting one right away, he headed over to his Head of House's office before sitting down outside the door to wait for the Professor to return from the pitch.

He didn't have to wait long, only a few minutes had passed before the diminutive Ravenclaw Head appeared, "Harry?" The man exclaimed, surprised at Harry's presence before quickly gathering his wits, "What can I help you with?"

"Can we talk in private?" Harry requested, gesturing to the office.

"Of course." He said, before opening the door and leading his student in. "Now, what is it you wish to talk about?"

"Cho Chang and her friend Marietta." He replied, once again throwing the professor for a loop at mention of the girls. "During the run up to the Quidditch match she was throwing balls of cold water at Luna Lovegood, and frankly I thought you would like to know that you have two third-years harassing a first-year." He explained, testing to see where the professor stood on the issue of bullying in the house.

"Did anyone else see this?" The Charm's Master asked.

"I'm not sure. Padma did, at the very least, because she suggested we invite Luna to sit with us, but Luna caught them doing it and I got the impression from her actions that this was a regular thing."

The Professor sat heavily down in his chair, but Harry stayed standing, "Most troubling, there's not much I can do unless Luna complains, or they do something that could be classed as beyond a mere prank and put her in the hospital wing, unfortunately, or I catch them in the act myself. But I'll keep an eye on them, and inform the Prefects of the issue, since this is one of their primary responsibilities."

"I take it you're going to keep an eye on Luna, as you seem to have taken the young girl under your wing, if you don't mind the pun." He inquired, smiling at his own joke.

Harry worded his reply carefully, he disliked bullies, but he wasn't responsible for students' behavior, "The best I can, but I have my own life to lead and I can't play bodyguard. I also have my own problems. Being around me could put the girl in unnecessary danger; I can't protect her and myself." He said plainly.

The Professor nodded understandingly, "Indeed, you are correct. I was wondering if you would do me a service?"

"That depends." He answered, not promising anything more than listening to the Charm Master's proposal.

"I would like to suggest a similar arrangement to last year, instead of Penny, you monitor and guide Luna's development." Flitwick proposed.

"I thought you needed to be a Prefect to do that job?" Harry questioned, wondering why he was getting such a responsibility.

"Harry, your end-of-year exam results were outstanding; your lowest mark was 95 percent and that was History of Magic. And that was only because you outright challenged the material's validity. Your average mark was 97 percent with Charms, and 99 percent on Transfiguration. You also happen to be a student role model, amply demonstrated by you being here telling me about Luna's situation, when it should rightfully be the Prefects telling me and watching out for bullies."

Harry didn't let his surprise show at being told exactly how well he had done last year – he was only given Os and sometimes whether he'd placed first in his year for that subject – he replied, "I just know the material and the exam was pretty simple, not really much to it." He thanked the mind arts, personally, for the degree of his success. "And I'm hardly a role model, remember me skipping DADA? Speaking of which, when is our first private lesson going to be? I understand last week it couldn't happen due to the match and today's lesson being cancelled due to Quidditch..." He said, reminding the professor of their bargain.

"You failed to mention stunning and kidnapping a Professor." The now sly-looking Head of House pointed out. "And then locking him in a classroom with a silencing charm on the door."

He put on a neutral expression, "I neither confirm nor deny that allegation." He countered, not really surprised. "On an unrelated note, you said I had to go to DADA, not that the Professor had to be there to teach it."

Flitwick hummed thoughtfully and decided to get the conversation back on track, "I have every intention of giving you duelling lessons, do not worry about that. I merely wish to delay it until next year. With the Chamber of Secrets opening I've been asked to help patrol the school by the Headmaster. I also have a few problem students this year who have asked for additional tutoring for their OWLs."

Harry accepted the situation for what it was. Harry's needs weren't worth more than an entire year of students preparing for a life changing exam and the school's safety. "Fair enough, I don't mind delaying it." He admitted, "But mentoring Luna will still take a lot of my time."

"You don't need to tutor her, she's a very bright girl, but I just want someone to keep an eye on her, someone closer to her age, rather than an older student like Penny was to you." Filius explained. "Consider this the price for me keeping quiet about you stunning a Professor." The small professor said with a confident grin, reminding him far too much of his account manager.

"Fine, but you tell her about it." Harry bargained.

"I'll talk to her later." The smaller man accepted.

'That's the last time I help someone out of the good of my heart...' He mentally groaned as he left the office.

**Songbird Rooms – Sunday Evening**

"Here guys and girls, this is what I have on the chamber." Harry announced, handing out a copy of the file he'd created to everyone in the room. The next couple of minutes passed in silence as they all closely read their copy of the file.

"Interesting stuff." Tonks spoke up, still looking over the parchment. "Who would believe Hagrid was responsible? The man loves his beasts, but he's never hurt someone intentionally, and why Muggleborns? He's a half-giant, wouldn't he lash out at Pureblood elitists instead?"

"I agree, Hagrid is too kind-hearted to intentionally unleash a monster." Penny agreed, coming to the half-giant's defence. "What about this guy, Tom Riddle, who supposedly caught Hagrid?"

"Not much is known about him except that he's an orphan and a Muggleborn. He eventually became Head Boy, and was rewarded for special services to the school for capturing the one responsible for opening the Chamber." Harry listed, pulling out a copy of the old Prophet article.

"He must have been something special." Daphne finally added in an admiring tone whilst looking over the file, before explaining "Back then blood purity was an even bigger deal then it is now. To rise to the top in Slytherin he had to have been very talented, especially being a Muggleborn with no money or name of any value... no offense Penny." She added as she realized how her words could be taken.

Penny waved her off though, "None taken."

"He disappeared a couple years after school." Tracy read, "Then came back, then disappeared again. The Headmaster would have been the Transfiguration Professor during his time here."

"This stinks of a set up." Blaise deduced, voicing Harry's own private opinion.

"Agreed, there's no way that Hagrid would still be on the grounds if the Headmaster seriously thought that he was responsible. I think we need to find out more about this Tom Riddle, and maybe ask Hagrid about it." Harry planned.

"Oh God." Padma blurted out in shock, getting the whole room's attention.

"What?" Harry asked as everyone looked at Padma, who had gone rather pale.

"Moaning Myrtle was the victim." She explained.

"Moaning Myrtle?" He parroted, not recognizing the name, nor did Blaise.

"A ghost that presently haunts the second floor girls' bathroom. She's always crying and flooding the bathroom. How can you not know of her?" Padma asked in disbelief.

"Because I don't sneak into girls' bathrooms?" He asked sarcastically, getting an embarrassed blush from Padma as their friends laughed. "I think we can all agree that it seems like Hagrid was set up as a convenient scapegoat." He asked them all, getting a round of nods agreeing with his assessment.

"Harry and Padma, you go and talk with Hagrid, get his side of the story since there's nothing here about it. Get in contact with your information broker and get them to find out anything they can about this Tom Riddle guy." Daphne ordered, taking charge, "Tracy and I will try to find out anything from Myrtle."

"Yes Ma'am." He replied, giving a mock salute. "Now, has anyone noticed any odd behavior?" He asked, smoothly taking charge of the meeting again, knowing that Daphne had just tried a subtle power play for control of the group.

"Nothing except that odd first-year Ravenclaw girl. Harry and Padma were sitting with her yesterday during the game." Tonks said slowly, "Besides that, nothing seems amiss in the Puff house, or amongst the Prefects."

"That's taken care of." Harry answered, causing everyone to look at him, "I've been asked to mentor her this year by Flitwick, so I'll keep an eye on her."

"How did you end up mentoring her, its normally fifth years who do that?" Penny asked.

"Our Head of House thought it best that I keep an eye on her, to help discourage Chang's attempts at bullying her. What about the Slytherin house?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, both Malfoy and Nott are going at it still. After yesterday's game Draco lost a lot of respect after it was later revealed that the Snitch was behind him while he was busy laughing at Longbottom, well within his reach." Daphne explained, "And Blaise here," gesturing with her hand to her contracted boyfriend, "Is encouraging them. Most of the upper years just ignore him now, and to quote one such disgruntled member, who I believe was planning to try out as Seeker this year, 'fucking spoiled brat, only reason he's on the team is due to his fucking godfather being our fucking Head of House, screw Flint, screw Snape, etc...' His rant got quite passionate after that, almost Gryffindor-like, I might add." She suggested with a smirk.

"What about the first years?" Padma said, finally speaking up again.

"Whatever influence he had hit rock bottom a while ago, only him being the godson of our beloved Head of House gives him any power nowadays." Tracy answered while the other two Slytherins nodded their agreement. "It's only his little group that he has any real hold over, and that's starting to crumble with Nott challenging his every word. What about Ravenclaw?"

"Nothing major, only Luna, like Tonks mentioned, but I'm handling that, and Chang trying to throw her weight around, but for the most part its normal posturing. What about you two? Have you noticed anything I've missed?" He asked, turning to face Padma and Penny.

"Nothing, except what's already been mentioned." Both of the girls said in unison, glancing amused at each other when they finished.

"Potter, I was wondering if you could brew me a potion?" Blaise asked offhandedly.

Turning his attention to the Italian boy he gauged the boy's body language and found nothing that set off any alarms, "Depends on the potion, but I'll consider it."

"I don't have a specific potion in mind, just something humiliating that I can slip Malfoy or Nott, or both, and blame the other one for it."

Harry smirked, "I'll see what I can brew up. What type of effects are you looking for?"

"Nothing dangerous, but something that can't be hidden, like a skin-changing potion. Something embarrassing and highly visible."

"I know just the potion," Harry replied, smirking evilly.

**Midnight Gold**

"Luna, I've been asked to mentor you this year by our Head of House." Harry announced to the dreamy-eyed first-year sitting at one of Common Room study tables.

"Oh, the Nargles must be making him confused." The first-year answered.

Harry ignored her strange response and took charge, "Come on, pack your things, I want to test you to find out what you know." He instructed, already planning the lesson out in his mind. Luna packed efficiently and they were off, heading towards a disused classroom a few halls down.

"To start; Luna, how do you hold your wand?" He requested, watching as the blonde pulled her wand out from behind her ear, which he only just noticed, and resting it in the palm of her hand, holding it tightly.

"Your grip is too tight." He moved beside her, placing his hand up next to hers. "When you hold your wand, it needs to be firm, yet loose, so you can perform wand movements easily and freely, but have a good enough grip that you aren't going to toss your wand across the room." He flicked his wrist, causing his own wand to spring into his hand and demonstrated what he meant.

"You see how by using this lighter grip, I still have good hold on it, but it's loose enough to allow me to wield it with ease." He worked through a few of the standard first year wand motions. "Now you try. Just remember each wand is different and it has to feel natural to you."

He watched with satisfaction as the first-year adjusted her grip, loosening her hand and allowing her wand to move much more freely.

"That's better, this is important for more advanced spells that require fast, precise wand movements. You won't really need it for much of the first couple years, but it's better to get into the habit now rather than having to change it later." He instructed, recalling Tonks' own lecture on how to handle a wand. 'That sounded far dirtier than I meant it to...' He mentally declared.

"If you ever have to duel someone you want to be as fast as possible, while still being fluid. Just think of it as a quill, too tightly and you either snap it or simply can't write very well without stopping, too loose and you keep dropping your quill."

"Okay." Luna replied, concentrating on her grip until she found a comfortable position.

"Next step is the basic rules of magic, or at least spell casting. Magic is about focus, discipline and your own desire and will. Words are used to help shape the spell, but words are not necessary in most cases. You have to be able to view the spell and its results in your mind as well, at least at first." He explained as the tip of his wand started to pulse with white light. He idly noticed her dreamy silver eyes sharpening, focusing on the spell he was demonstrating for her. "As you can see I can cast a lumos charm without the need of words. No shouted incantation, just mental focus." He continued as his wand grew brighter and dimmed, before repeating.

"This is known as silent casting, and it won't be taught till NEWT level." He revealed, smiling as he saw her eyes widen. "Like a proper wand grip, the sooner you start practicing this the easier it is. I work on this by using this exact method; I first cast the spell aloud, visualizing its effects, and I do this several times until I can almost feel it in my gut, then I steadily get quieter while visualizing the same effects until I can just think of the spell and how it feels." He finished his lecture by suddenly firing a bolt of sizzling red energy at the opposite wall of the room.

"That was the stunning charm, learned in third year, its incantation is 'Stupefy', its effects can last from ten minutes to several hours, depending on the magical power put behind it, and the magical resistance of your target."

She looked up at him and he was taken off guard as he saw both wonder and awe in her eyes, "Will you teach me that?" She asked, her entire mood brightening.

He didn't see any reason why not, "In time, I'll be happy to. But first you need to get more used to casting magic first. Without the proper control you could drain your entire core casting just one spell. When I believe you're capable of casting the spell without harming yourself, I'll teach it to you, that's the deal." He said seriously, "But it would be irresponsible of me to teach it to you right now when it could easily harm you." He explained, hoping that she understood the seriousness of the subject. She looked oddly grim, so he felt that she did, more so than most even.

"For now, what I want you to do each night before you go to bed is go over the charms and spells you already know that can be cast safely in your room. Also try to throw in Lumos exercises, making the light brighter and dimmer. Do this for a couple of minutes at a time before repeating it, it will help you gain control and develop your own magical stamina." He instructed, showing her the lumos charm again as a demonstration.

"If you have any problems, ask me and I'll help you with whatever spell you need. In addition, you will join me in the potion lab I have access to; there I'll help you with brewing. I expect Professor Snape has overlooked the basics, because I know he did with my own class." He said, not even trying to hide his distaste for the man's lack of safety or detailed instructions.

"Now, show me what you can do." He challenged, wanting to see just what the first-year was capable of so far.

**The Next Morning**

Seeing his normal place at the Ravenclaw table open and waiting for him, he took it, "Good morning." He said in greeting to his friends, his bow and quiver of arrows over his shoulder attracting some strange looks from the student body who weren't aware of his training.

"What's with the bow and arrows, you're not secretly Robin Hood are you?" A third-year Ravenclaw by the name of Phillip asked good naturedly.

"No, I train in the mornings, most of the time I'm up at 6am, go for a run around the grounds and then hit the range." He offered in explanation, snagging up some boiled eggs while he did so. It never ceased to amaze him that a witch went out of her way to create a spell to stop boiled eggs from going hard while waiting to be eaten. He hit the top of the egg with his knife, "Most of time, I head back up to the dorms, shower, change, and store my equipment, but today I did another half an hour. I haven't got double potions anymore, so why rush?" He shrugged as he dug into his boiled egg.

"Yeah, you're a lucky bastard you know that?" Phillip grumbled with no real heat as several other Ravenclaws murmured in agreement.

"If you say so." He replied, not really caring that they disliked the fact that he had gotten out of the hated Potions class.

He felt a slight weight slide in next to him and turned, expecting to see Padma, only to be surprised as he saw tired silver eyes looking back at him. He could safely assume she was tired from the magical exercises he'd told her to do. It was nice to see that she was doing as he told her and wasn't going to be difficult about it like some first-years were. "Good morning Luna, sleep well?"

"The dreamwhisperers were most welcome guests, they took me away on their wings, I wasn't sure if they were going to let me return." She answered, throwing him for a loop with the random comment as she picked out some cereal.

Recovering quickly, as several of their housemates gave her strange looks, he asked, "I take it that's a good thing?" Deciding he would have to decode her odd phases sooner or later, while creating a section in his codex to store the translations.

"Yes, their wings carried me to the clouds of hopes and fantasies."

"Good, good." He catalogued that as either a flying dream or simply a good dream in general. He might be cynical, but it could also mean she suffered some kind of tragedy in her past and her dreams of hopes and fantasies were something related to that.

"Good morning Harry, good morning Luna." Padma greeted warmly, setting herself down next to him, casting her eyes over Luna, who was looking off into the distance, before looking back at him with an amused expression.

Harry shrugged, not really minding the fact that Luna was there. Frankly, he preferred her over some of their more talkative housemates who seemed to continuously gossip about the most pointless of things.

"Are you going to Duelling Club?" Padma inquired.

"I might, just to scout it out." He answered unenthusiastically before taking a sip of his orange juice. The only reason he saw to go was to see other student's abilities and try to judge where they ranked. This was a double edged sword as he would likely need to participate as well, giving away his own abilities, which he wanted to keep hidden as long as he could, even if the staff knew a fair bit of his training already.

**A Couple Days Later**

He entered his potions lab with Penny beside him since they were both brewing their own mixtures today, "So how is everything going with Luna?" She asked as she set up her own brewing equipment, clearly interested in the unusual girl who often joined him, Penny and Padma in the evenings to study.

He paused for a moment to word his response in a way that did the strange girl justice, "She's rather unique, but beneath that dreamy persona she has a very sharp, quick mind." And was proving well worth his efforts he admitted silently. "But at times I get the impression that her dreamy persona is a defence against the world." He admitted, making sure his cauldron was properly cleaned to prevent the next potion from being tainted by the previous one, another of the potion brewing fundamentals that Snape had conveniently forgotten to mention. "From what I know, her mother died when she was young, an event Luna witnessed." He was already planning to ask Rita to find out the details of Luna's home life.

"That's horrible." Penny gasped.

"Yes, I can guess it might have rattled her." He said sympathetically, feeling a level of empathy and kinship towards the first-year. "However, her mother's death sent her father round the bend, he's been unstable ever since from what I've pieced together." He painted the picture further for the girl as he laid out the rest of his equipment, heading over to one of the ingredient cabinets rather than storing all his supplies in his trunk.

Penny grabbed her own supplies and began laying them out, "Do you think Luna may be involved in the opening of the Chamber of Secrets?"

His reply was without hesitation. "No, I'm sure she's innocent."

He unlocked the ingredients cabinet only to find several of his ingredients missing, including some of the rare ones, "She was with me that whole afternoon and evening." He excused, remembering hearing the news the following morning of a first-year by the name of Colin Creevy being found petrified in the corridor just like Mad Eye. He didn't really have much of an opinion of the first-year, having only met the young lion once before when he'd tried to snap a nice picture of the Ravenclaw team for his yearbook. "Nice kid, but annoying as hell, I wouldn't mind if he asked about taking a picture first, but he just appears out of nowhere and sticks his camera if your face... very annoying." Okay so maybe he did have a bit of an opinion after all.

"He did the same to me." She nodded her head, "That's good, but we still haven't gotten anywhere." She said, clearly relieved that Luna wasn't involved, but getting impatient at the lack of answers.

"Patience my dear, we're making progress, we knew more than we did a month ago." He said sagely, "If it was easy, the Headmaster would have already solved it and we have far less resources than he does, and he was even here the last time it was opened..." He knew his friend's shorter temper was primed by the lack of any real tangible progress. "Penny, did you use any of my ingredients?" He asked, not minding if she had used them, as he finished checking another cupboard to find more of his potions stocks were missing.

"No, why?" She asked moving over to examine what he was looking at. "What's missing?"

"Powdered Bicorn Horn and Shredded Boomslang Skin." He answered, wondering why it was taken.

"Professor Snape's own stores were broken into earlier this week I heard, maybe it's the same person?" His friend suggested.

He wasn't really worried about the cost of the ingredients, it was the principle of the matter. "Perhaps, but Professor Snape would have all the ingredients I would have, so why mine? And how did they get the password?" He was more concerned with how they got into the lab, since he didn't think anyone would get the password by chance. His mind started coming up with different theories and explanations.

"Maybe hidden under a disillusionment charm?" His friend suggested, "Or an invisibility cloak like yours? If they have that then they could have just waited outside the door to hear it either from you or me, or they followed us in and waited until we left before raiding your stores." She listed several ways one could enter. "Maybe they brewed something wrong, and needed to replace their supplies and you were an easier target than Snape?" She guessed, offering a possible motive.

"Could be." He admitted, grabbing the ingredients he needed for his current potion, "I'll tell the staff later."

"When are you going to talk to Hagrid? I know Daphne and Tracy are trying to befriend Myrtle." She asked.

He turned his thoughts away from the stolen supplies for now and answered her, "This weekend, and I plan on taking Luna with me. She has a passion for unusual creatures, I'm sure she can help disarm Hagrid and distract him while I'm questioning him." He already planned out how he was going to approach the subject discreetly. After all, it wouldn't do to attract any unwanted attention to himself with people questioning his interest in the Chamber.

"Oh," Was the only thing Penny said, caught off guard by his answer, "That's very devious of you."

"I know," He replied, internally smiling at his plan. "It will also give me a chance to get closer to Luna, as well as Hagrid. I heard whispers he'll be teaching Care next year. It's a shame you're not taking the class."

She shook her head, her blonde ponytail dancing from side to side, "Why you aren't a Slytherin I'll never know."

He responded automatically with, "You'd have to ask the Hat." Whilst remembering the Hat's words from his first year.

**Later that Evening**

Knocking on the deputy headmistress' office door, he waited for an answer before entering and taking the offered seat. The Gryffindor Head of House was grading papers and funnily enough it looked like it was his own class' work. "Mr. Potter, what can I do for you?" The stern women asked, setting down her quill and giving him her full attention.

"I just wanted to report a theft. Several ingredients were taken from my private stores in the lab I've been using to study potions."

"What was taken?" The woman asked.

"Bicorn horn and Shredded Boomslang skin." He replied.

"Interesting," She commented, clearly thinking of something, "I'll see about having some replacement ingredients sent to you. How much was taken?" The deputy headmistress asked.

"Maybe around 2 kilograms of each? It's hard to tell since I've been using it recently for my own potion work, and Miss Clearwater borrows some from time to time."

"Understandable." She nodded her head, accepting the explanation. "How is Professor Slughorn, I haven't spoken to him in several years?"

"Enjoying his retirement from what I've heard." He said, actually enjoying his correspondence with the former Potions Professor. "He knows his stuff and is very passionate about his craft. In his letter he often gives little tips and tricks that aren't written in the textbooks. Potion Masters' little secrets of the trade, as it were. He said I'm as talented as my mother was, back when he was teaching her." He smiled fondly at the praise.

The Deputy Headmistress cracked a rare smile, "She was one of his favourites, and it's good to know you're doing well."

"Thank you."

"Well then Mr. Potter, I need to get on with my marking, I'll bring this development to the staff's attention, but with the Chamber of Secrets on everyone's mind, I don't think much will get done." She admitted.

"I understand; I can replace the ingredients easily enough. It's just the annoyance of it." He admitted before taking his leave.

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note**: First a special thanks to Slicerness for acting as my beta and Joe Lawyer


	29. Y2 Hagrid's Tale

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safety and mature themes **- Unsure yet if it will contain 'lemons' since I'd rather not have my story removed. Nor do I know the final pairings let.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord **

**Chapter 29: Hagrid's tale.**

**Reposted 3rd April 2013**

**Revised and Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

Tension filled the air as his fellow students rushed about their business, desperately trying to forget about the most recent attack. He could literally feel it hanging in the air, like a dark cloud. Whoever the heir was, they had successfully created the climate of fear they desired.

However, life carried on. "Potter!" A familiar voice shouted from behind him; bringing him out of his own internal thoughts.

Turning in the direction of the sound, he saw it was one of his teammates, "Chambers," he answered back in greeting to the fourth-year chaser, who frankly seemed better suited for a beater position rather than a chaser.

"Roger has managed to book the pitch for this evening, practice starts at 7pm and should go on till maybe 9 o'clock, be there," the stocky chaser instructed, before moving away, not waiting for a reply.

He didn't even bother with a reply; it seemed rather pointless since it wasn't a debate nor a true question. But it did upset his current plans for the evening, since he had already planned to train with his cousin then work with Padma on their current homework assignments. 'Oh well.' It wasn't like he could just ditch the training session; Cho would be there as well, clearly trying to steal his spot on the team.

All in all it was rather annoying being forced to go. He then heard the familiar crackle of distant thunder, 'Oh great, rain too, no wonder the pitch was available' he thought as he looked out the nearest window to see that it was already raining, with more dark clouds on the way and random flashes of lightning in the distance. He looked out solemnly over the grounds, as the rain continued to pour down; 'Maybe it will be cancelled,' knowing it was a real possibility.

After all, Ravenclaws were hardly known for being truly reckless, or brave enough to train in the middle of a storm. Thou he was willing to admit in the privacy of his mind that he felt a rush of excitement at the thought of playing in such challenging conditions.

That evening the rest of the team stayed inside, not bothering to tell him the training session had been cancelled. He was out their all alone, facing the storm, he didn't even bother releasing the snitch, he just flew around without any real purpose or urgency, just riding the powerful, cold air currents, scenting the power in the very air he breathed, enjoying the exotic rush of it all, it was truly a primal experience and his very blood and magic sung to him in joy.

However there was another who bore witness to this bit of joy, a pair of small beady eyes watched him from the shadows, tracking him, measuring him, scrutinizing him, desperately hoping for the boy to fall to his gristly death, or to be hit by lightning.

Unfortunately, lady luck refused to play ball.

**Midnight Lord**

Knocking on the half-giant's door he shortly heard a rather predictable response "Just a minute!" Looking over at his friend as he waited patiently, he saw that Luna was already off in her own little world watching the clouds and not really paying attention to anything. 'Damn that is disarming,' admitting that Luna could properly disarm anyone with her dreamy look.

"Harry! What are you doing down here?" Hagrid exclaimed, clearly surprised to see him, "And who is your friend?" examining Luna, who was holding Harry's left arm.

Smiling at his rather big friend, "I thought I'd come down and see you my friend since we haven't had a chance to really talk since last year. Sirius sends his regards," giving both his greeting and his explanation for being here. "Now let me introduce you to my friend," gesturing to Luna, "This is Luna Lovegood, I thought I'd bring her along; she happens to love creatures, almost as much as you do."

"Oh really!" the half-giant beamed, "It's good to meet you too Luna, come in and sit down," letting them into the hut. The moment they walked through the doorway they were hit with hot smoky air, which was rather pleasant and earthy actually.

"Drink?" the half-giant asked, moving to put a kettle of water to boil over the log fire.

"Sure," before giving a soft shake to his friend, "Luna, do you want a drink?"

"Tea, please. Hagrid you must get alot of Nargles in here, they like the wood," she said dreamily, whilst staring at the wood thatch ceiling of the hut.

Smiling slightly, as the half-giant was thrown for a loop like everyone else was. Seeing Hagrid looking at him for help, he just gave a shrug of the shoulders, which said 'I don't know,' whilst mouthing play along. "Of course," Hagrid hurried agreed, "The little things love the wood, just like forest pixies do," as he moved to sit down. "This is Fang," introducing his dog, "Don't worry he's harmless," clearly trying to move the chat away from the creature he had no idea about.

"Harry, I got me some exciting news, The Headmaster is considering my request to take over the COMC position," causing him to smile at the news, wondering just what Hagrid would introduce them to. "Of course, a couple of the school governors are questioning it, but the headmaster said he was sure he could persuade them to see it his way."

"That's excellent news! Well done!" already guessing which governor was leading that campaign against Hagrid. "What creatures can I expect next year?"

"Oh this and that, it depends how the classes go... However I'm hoping that I can introduce some of the lower years to the Unicorn herd, without scaring the poor things, they don't react well to older students, not innocent or pure enough for them I suppose, especially the Slytherins," the groundskeeper said rather negatively.

Seeing his way in, "If you don't mind me asking, is there any reason for you disliking them? Surely you have a good reason? Oh Hagrid, the kettle," seeing the water starting to boil over.

"Oh, right," as the half giant scrambled to serve the tea, "Would you like Honey tea? Or Lavender? Or maybe something a bit stronger such as Hazelnut?"

"Honey flavour please, Luna will have the same," he requested, since she was busy looking at something else, rather than listening to Hagrid.

"Alright," he said, as he went about serving them up some honey tea, in some truly oversized cups, which seemed to hold about two litres of the mixture. 'Damn, I'm going to need the bathroom after this,' he thought as he sipped the steaming drink, being careful not to burn his lips.

"So Hagrid, what do you have against Slytherins, I would think you of all people wouldn't judge people just on their appearance, or their house," he probed, wondering if the friendly groundskeeper would of been hostile to him if he was wearing green, instead of blue.

"Yea, but I was a Gryffindor in my time here, bad memories you see," the man admitted soberly.

"Do you want to talk about it? Slytherins often make fun of me too," Luna said out of nowhere, focusing on the groundskeeper. "The Lions do as well, they call me Loony Luna," once again throwing off their host.

"You know, not all Slytherins are out to get you," he spoke, "Yes, some are jerks and brats, but that's due to them having been brought up that way by their parents," he added, thinking of a couple of his year mates. "You never know, some could be rather nice people given the chance. As the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover," smiling as he said it, knowing that saying was very popular amongst Ravenclaws.

"Yea, your right. Ignore their name calling Luna, they'll grow out of it," Hagrid advised, before downing some of his drink.

"Not everyone is good or evil based on the house they're sorted into, or even born into. Look at Sirius for an example of that; born to the Black family, one of darkest households around, went into Gryffindor, befriended a werewolf, and fought against Lord Voldemort," he explained, seeing the groundskeeper flinch at the name, "Then you have Peter Pettigrew," he said with some venom. "Born to a nice light-sided family, sorted into Gryffindor house, just to end up betraying his friends, my family, to the dark lord," knowing he was making an impression, since Hagrid knew Peter.

"Yea, I never would have guessed that. He was such a nice boy, always following your father and Sirius around; I don't understand what happened..." shaking his head, as if he had personally failed somehow, "But, it's good to know about Sirius, so when will I see him? I missed him last time he was here," referring to Sirius and Harry's announcement.

"My godfather is on holiday with Remus currently, he might pop in after Christmas," not really knowing if his godfather would or not.

"It would be good to catch up with him."

Seeing that first approach was failing him, he decided to change tactics, "Yea, I can't wait for the holidays, Sirius' got something planned. Plus Hogwarts doesn't feel safe with Peter around and the Chamber being opened. But don't worry, I'll get you all a nice gift to help cheer you up," giving a smile which hinted at hidden excitement, that was to be expected from a child thinking of Christmas.

"Yea, that's nasty business that, I remember the last time it was opened," taking Harry's bait.

"Really?" playing naive.

"Yea, I was at school back then, they blamed me for it," the groundkeeper admitted bitterly, "Got me expelled, and snapped my wand, only the headmaster believed I was innocent of the crime. I was set up!"

"That's dreadful," Luna said, clearly listening to the chat.

"Want to tell us about it? Maybe it will help catch whoever is responsible and clear your name. Maybe it's a descendant of whoever set you up, if we catch them and can link it back to their family member, it would clear your name." He suggested as Hagrid considered the idea, "You know Sirius and I have a lot of pull now in the ministry, if we can find some evidence, there's no reason we can't clear your name. Madam Bones seems reasonable, if they're linked, I'm sure she'll look into it."

"Alright, what's the harm anyways." The half-giant said, "Some 50 years ago I attended Hogwarts, the headmaster was the transfiguration Professor back then, and Headmaster Dippet was in charge. He never really liked me from the get go, I was a bit clumsy back then you see," He admitted to them. "For the most part I got along with quite a few students, the muggleborns mainly, and half-bloods too, but Slytherins made my life hell."

"Then the Chamber of Secrets opened in my 4th year and the muggleborns started dropping like flies, then Myrtle was suddenly murdered and they were talking of closing the school," he paused, whilst taking a great gulp of his own drink. "Everyone was afraid when it happened. Tom Riddle burst into my room one night, saying I was the one responsible, on account of me having a 4 star pet. It just was a baby Acromantula!" the groundskeeper exclaimed, as if the man-eating spider was a normal choice of pet.

'Damn, never ask Hagrid to buy a pet,' he noted.

"They searched my room and found notes on the Chamber of Secrets, which were clearly placed there for the teachers or the Aurors to find. Any idiot could see that it wasn't my writing, it was fine and elegant, while mine is basic at best. But it was his word against mine. Unfortunately for me, he had a silver tongue that slimy snake. Who would believe little old me, against the head boy? The headmaster's favourite student?"

"Only Dumbledore argued that Tom should be questioned more. But nothing happened after that, Dippet needed to look like he was doing something and the Ministry wanted to calm the public, so it was all blamed on me. I personally say it was Riddle, he had too many perfect answers to their clever questions; he painted me a misguided oaf, and that my Acromantula was a dangerous dark beast!" his voice shaking the hut. Harry held himself still, whilst his other hand held Luna in place as the giant slowly calmed down.

"Acromantulas kill by laying web traps, and then wrapping their prey in webs, followed by a dose of venom to melt their insides. Myrtle was just found dead, no bite marks, no webs, just dead, like she had just dropped dead instantly. Plus Aragog was only the size of your hand back then, how could he kill a second year? Of course, these questions were all ignored. After all, I was just a half breed to them, a freak of nature who should have never been born in their eyes," shaking his head at the painful memories.

"Aragog?" he asked, after Hagrid had settled down.

"That's what I named him. Now he lives in the forest with his children and grandchildren. Maybe I should introduce you some time," the groundskeeper said, "It's only a small nest."

The words 'only' and 'small' triggered some internal alarm bells; the last thing he would ever do was walk into a nest full of man-eating spiders. However, none of this showed on the outside, "That... would be an interesting experience," and ridiculously terrifying his mind added.

He decided to immediately change the subject lest Hagrid get any further ideas, "That's terrible, just proves that the Ministry was as incapable then as they are now. I'm sure Sirius will help you if he can."

"My father will print your story if you want?" Luna said speaking up, laying her small hand on Hagrid's, trying to comfort the half-giant, which would have been rather funny if they weren't discussing something so serious.

"Well, it's a long time ago, and Dumbledore believes he will find evidence to clear me this time, so leave it to the adults," he said sternly.

"Of course," he quickly agreed, deciding that he was spread too thin at the moment to really help anyways. Maybe when things had settled down and he had fewer problems he could deal with it. Who knew, if he could help Hagrid out, it could lead to COMC being a walk in the park, plus getting into another staff member's good graces.

The next couple of hours were actually rather interesting, however as the morning slipped into the afternoon he knew that it was time to leave and head back to get something to eat. Frankly he remembered the last time he had tried some of Hagrid's cooking and was nowhere near hungry enough to try rock cakes again. Plus he needed the bathroom, badly, and wasn't willing to use Hagrid's.

Slowly making their way back to the school, they ran into Neville and his group of friends making their way down to Hagrid's hut. However Ron was looking a bit green, like he was going to be sick at any moment. They were forced to side step around the boy and the group, since it seemed like they weren't looking where they were going, just for Dean to bump hard into Luna's shoulder knocking the smaller girl to the ground. Dean didn't even stop to check on the girl, just kept walking down like nothing happened, only Hermione looked somewhat concerned, but she stayed quiet.

Offering Luna a hand up, she didn't even bat an eye at what happened. Clearly the girl was used to such treatment and considered it normal, and frankly that was going to change, starting right now.

"Let me show you a shoelace tying jinx, it's simple to learn and if used correctly can have some rather devastating results; I'll teach it to you later," he said, before casting the spell at the group, while mentally focusing on the image of it tying the whole group's shoelaces together, like a long chain.

The spell did what he envisioned and the next thing they saw was the whole group comically falling to the ground in a heap, causing Ron to vomit as they went down, liberally coating the group in his noxious vomit. Looking over at Luna, he could see amusement dancing in her eyes and a small smile on her lips.

Come on let's go, before they realize it was us. They quickly moved away from the little bit of anarchy he had caused with the first year prank jinx. There was also the added motivation that he needed to go to the toilet rather badly; he really should have stopped after that first cup of tea, but he had a bit of a sweet tooth and had gone for the second cup anyways.

"Give me a sec, just need to use the toilets," he said, while stepping into the boy's toilets. He avoided the urinals altogether, as they had been bewitched a couple of days earlier by the twins to talk back with witty remarks. And frankly, when nature called, he did not want the toilet talking back at him.

He felt much better as he stepped out of one of the stalls, now that the growing pressure in his bladder had been relieved.

Walking over to the sinks to wash his hands, he saw Luna in the mirror's reflection, examining a urinal. "So this is what a boys' bathroom looks like." The unusual first-year said, "Ours smells like lavender, but pinecones is rather nice too," she added off-handedly, as he just looked at her.

"Luna, this is the boys' toilet," he stated, stressing the boy's part.

"Oh yes, I know," she stated flatly in reply, as if they were merely discussing the weather, whilst inspecting the stalls, "I always wondered what they would look like; I thought they would be more different. Plus I need to go to the loo as well."

"Luna, the girls' toilet is just around the corner," he answered back, moving over to escort her out of the boys' toilets, before another guy walked in on them.

"Oh yes, I know," nodding her head, causing her hair to dance, "But Hermione's brewing a potion in there and it's meant to be a secret, so I can't go in there otherwise it's not a secret," she answered back, as if this was the most logical answer in the world. She then deftly slipped out of his hold and into one of the stalls, closing the door on him.

He saw that there was no way he was going to win this, "I'll be outside waiting," he stated, before leaving the room.

Leaning on the wall opposite the toilet door, he thought over Luna's comment about Hermione brewing a potion, while hoping that no guys would come his way with a desire to use the toilet.

However luck _wasn't_ on his side, as a Slytherin boy came along, maybe 6th or 7th year by the looks of him, but it was hard to tell. Stepping up quickly to intercept him, he spoke in a conspiratorial manner. "You don't want to go in there mate, the Weasley twins have pranked it again, the toilets and urinals have teeth this time! And they set off stink bombs too! I'm just standing guard until my mate comes back with a professor," he said seriously, hoping the boy would buy it. After all, would you use a toilet if it had teeth? Hell no! "After all, I doubt you want to see if those teeth are just for show," making the Slytherin cringe.

"Merlin! Is no place sacred to them?" the older boy said to no one, before moving away. Looking over his shoulder, "Thanks Potter," the Slytherin said before quickly slipping away, clearly able to hold off nature for just a bit longer with the extra incentive.

He looked back at the door, 'What have I gotten myself in to?' he mused while thinking about Luna's actions.

**That Evening**

"How was Hagrid?" Tracy asked from her chair.

"Surprisingly knowledgeable," he replied back, as he sat down in the remaining free space. "Hagrid was set up by Tom Riddle, that much is clear, and Headmaster Dippet used him as a scapegoat. There was no proper investigation at all, despite our current headmaster's urgings for one, who believed Riddle was behind it." He explained to the group as he told them of Hagrid's role.

"An Acromantula, really? That was his _pet_?! Fucking hell, only Hagrid would have a man-eating spider as a pet!" Tracy exclaimed, pretty much echoing all their thoughts on the subject.

"Yes, he named it Aragog," Harry said with good humour, "However from what Hagrid implied, it's still alive and living in the Forbidden Forest with its children. To quote Hagrid's words, 'it's just a small nest.'"

"Small as in human small or half-giant small?" Tonks demanded, clearly knowing of the danger the nest presented from DADA. He only knew of the species because he looked up dangerous magical creatures last year, while researching about Hagrid's pet Cerberus. "Their nests can grow into the thousands as long as there is enough food around to prevent them from turning on one another," she explained to the rest of them.

"If it's been there for over 50 years, there are probably several nests throughout the forest. I would imagine the only reason we haven't encountered them already is due to the castle wards;, if the wards ever collapsed we would have serious problems," he said, not liking the idea of hundreds of man-eating spiders living so close to a school full of children.

"Fuck," Tonks said to no one but herself.

"Moving on," Daphne said, taking charge of the meeting while clearly trying to ignore the idea of hundreds or even thousands of man-eating spiders in the nearby forest. "I had my parents track down anything they could get on Tom Riddle. I found out the following: He got prefect grades throughout Hogwarts, all 'Outstandings' to the point his teachers expected him to immediately get into a high Ministry position upon graduating. However he ended up working in the alley at Borgin and Burkes, a store known for dealing in anitquities and off-the-record dark arts items. This shocked many of his classmates and teachers. Now here's where it gets interesting. Tom then spent the next two years working there before suddenly disappearing. He's wanted for questioning by the ministry over his possible involvement in the death of Hepzibah Smith, a lady he met two days earlier while buying some of her private collection of antiques for the store on the owner's behalf."

"Now pay attention, this is the important part. Originally Mrs. Smith's death was ruled as an accident, after the Aurors questioned her old house elf who confessed to accidently poisoning her by mistake. Naturally the elf was disposed of by the Ministry without a second thought. However, when Mrs. Smith's remaining family later reported that two of her most prized heirlooms were missing and unaccounted for, the Aurors reopened the case. The missing artifacts were Salazar Slytherin's Locket, and Hufflepuff's Cup," Daphne said smugly to the room, well, as smugly as she could without ruining her icy persona.

"Sounds just like what happened to Hagrid; another easily accused non-human set up to take the fall," Tracy said. "What are the odds that this Riddle guy is involved in the Chamber of Secrets, and the thief of a Slytherin artefact? And a Puff one?"

"Exactly, if this Riddle guy was the heir, he may have believed he was entitled to the locket. And if he had already gotten away with murder once, what's to stop him from doing so again?" he asked the room. "Plus a Hufflepuff one as well? That's a cherry on the cake. Each would be worth a fortune if sold to the right person I imagine. This guy had no money. So he could always use the gold."

"Plus, the plan of setting a fall guy up worked before with Hagrid;, the Aurors don't look for you if they believe they've already got their killer, so why not do so again with an elf? Something the ministry considers nothing more than a slave," Tonks stated factually.

"I agree, there is quite a bit of evidence to support this theory, but he's a muggleborn, how can he be the heir of Slytherin?" Blaise said, pointing out a possible hole in their logic.

"He's an orphan, that does not necessarily mean he's a muggleborn," he said firmly, finding it rather easy to connect with this Riddle character. "Trust me, as an orphan I was always interested about my past, always trying to find out more about it, trying to find something to connect with. I didn't find out about my family until I met the goblins."

Looking at the file, "The file states he's a muggleborn; that just means the wizards that found him believed he was a muggleborn. For all we know, his mother or father could have been a magical, but they died in a muggle area. Or one his parents could have been cast out of the main Slytherin family generations ago and he is from this discarded bloodline of squibs; it wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened, the Blacks did it all the time. The muggle authorities wouldn't know where he came from, he would just be another child found on the steps of an orphanage."

Remembering his relatives off handed threats about shipping him off, and watching the movie **'**Oliver' at Christmas time before replying. "Frankly they are hard, unforgiving places, even by today's standards, yet even worse back then. It would explain the hatred of muggles and muggleborns if he had a bad childhood at the orphanage, just to discover when he got here that he had Slytherin Blood in his veins later on."

"Then he would reach out for it, trying to claim something of his heritage, something to connect with," Penny added, clearly seeing where he was coming from. "We all desire to understand our existence, our purpose in life, and without a past that's hard to do."

"I would," he added quietly. "If I found out that I was 'Slytherin's heir' and I grew up in an orphanage, where I was beaten and bullied, I could very well see that my forbear was correct, and decide to carry on my ancestor's work. Then if he was sent back to the orphanage every summer, forced to endure bullying, unable to use his magic to protect himself, forced to suffer." He said, as he examined the picture of the guy, as well the stolen heirlooms, "Every year this guy went from being the most gifted student in his year, the envy of his peers, to nothing, each summer, how would that affect him?"

"It's possible," Daphne admitted, seeing his rationale. "He could very well reject everything muggle, just from his hatred of the orphanage."

"Might I remind you that Voldemort is the last known heir of Slytherin... I know a bit of history, Riddle is not typical wizard name, and there are no Lordships with the name of Riddle in Britain... at least to my knowledge," Blaise argued, playing the role of devil's advocate.

"I agree, but he disappeared, he could very well have been killed by Voldemort. After all, I doubt Voldemort would accept a half blood for a brother or a distant cousin..." Daphne stated.

Looking towards the window, seeing the lights of Hogsmeade in the distance confirmed that it was getting late, "How about we take a break and think this over. I'm sure you all agree this Riddle guy is certainly a good suspect for setting Hagrid up and opening the Chamber the first time around. There are just too many similarities between the events," he told the room, yet still needing time to think it over.

"Yea, I think we all need to take a step back and think about it, plus it's getting late," Padma said, seconding his opinion.

"Daphne, you and Tracy were going to talk to Myrtle, have you found anything out?"

"Not yet, she's naturally mistrustful of us," Tracy said answered for the pair.

"It will take more time than we thought." Daphne added, clearly annoyed at her own failure, which made it clear why she got her parents to find out so much about Riddle. Since that had been his job and Rita was currently digging up his dirty secrets.

"Fair enough, no offense to you guys, but Slytherin does have a rather bad reputation."

**Midnight Gold**

"Hagrid, my old friend," he said warmly, hoping the meeting would go well.

"Headmaster! What brings you down here in the middle of the night?"

"We need to talk my friend," he answered seriously, "May I come inside? The doorstep is hardly suitable for this chat."

"Of course! Make yourself at home," moving out of the doorway and allowing him to enter.

He took one of the oversized seats, "I'll get straight down to business, since it is late. The Minister is pressuring the Aurors to arrest you, due to the commonly held belief that you were the individual responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets the last time." Putting his hand up, stopping Hagrid's protest of his innocent.

"I know you are innocent," he said, kindly reassuring Hagrid, picking his words carefully before explaining, "But I'm being spread too thin after the events of late year. The school governors are starting to call for my resignation, if I can't get a handle on this situation. How much of it is real concern, or Lord Malfoy's bribes and threats, I do not know," shocking his friend.

"However, I have a solution that benefits us both; it proves that you are innocent and it helps buy me time to act. Next year, I'm planning for Hogwarts' students to take part in an exchange project with Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France, and possibly Durmstrang." He explained, not wishing to mention the possibility of the Tri-Wizard tournament just yet, "However I need to send a staff member in advance to ensure the grounds are safe for our students. I would like you to go," He knew that Hagrid would take the job of protecting the students most seriously.

"If you are out the country when the next attack happens the Ministry will be forced to acknowledge that you are not the party responsible my friend, and it will be an important first step in clearing your name. I will prove that I was correct about you to the Minister and more importantly to the school's governors. I doubt you wish to go to Azkaban whilst I try to find the true party responsible for these attacks," not mentioning he already knew Lord Malfoy was the one responsible for it.

"Headmaster, you asking me to run?" the groundskeeper asked.

"More like a tactical withdrawal, or repositioning," he answered, seeing his friend's brave Gryffindor nature shining through.

Resorting to his secret weapon, "It's just a temporary measure to buy time," after all, the 'heir' would either have to stop the attacks, and he would be safe and Hagrid would be out of the country and protected by his allies in France, or the attacks would continue and his friend would be proven innocent. "And Olympe Maxime the Headmistress is a rather unique woman," remembering her towering frame.

"She's a half-giant like you Hagrid," watching his friend's eyes light up like candles, very big candles.

"Seriously?"

"Indeed, I think you would make a very good ambassador for Hogwarts in this case."

"What about the grounds?" Hagrid questioned.

He smiled at his friend's sense of duty and responsibility to the school. "The elves can handle it, besides it's only till the end of the school year. Would you at least consider it for me, my old friend?" He asked, wanting to protect his most loyal friend.

**Midnight Gold**

Excitement filled the Great Hall as it was nearly time for the first Duelling Club meeting. Frankly she didn't care much for it except to scout out her year-mates' strengths. Already she could hear students bragging of their prowess with their wands, most clearly lying. It reminded her greatly of their first year flying lessons and how Draco had bragged of his skills with a broom, only to be immediately corrected by their flying instructor on something as fundamental as how to grip the broom.

That was Draco's biggest weakness, his ego and the seemingly unshakeable belief that he was better than everyone around him. That belief was _ridiculous_ of course, but Daphne wasn't going to point that out to him. She was sure that Harry would come to this meeting, to scout out his year mates like her; it surprised her that he wasn't.

She examined the long duelling platform running down the middle of the Great Hall; this was clearly going to be use for demonstrations on duelling forms. It was odd; she expected the duelling platform to be more...grand.

Though she did like the colour scheme of it, midnight blue, with a Moon phases cycle running down the middle of it. Very tasteful. Just then their DADA professor marched in, dressed in his duelling outfit, his lavish cape flowing behind him looking more like a hindrance than an advantage in a duel. She would have to ask Harry about it, since he duelled and trained with his cousin more hours a week than they had DADA lessons, even more so with Pettigrew after him.

"Gather round people, Gather round!" Lockhart pompously announced to the hall, clearly loving the lime light. She allowed herself to be taken with the crowd, intentionally positioning herself towards the back, but with a clear line of sight. "Can everyone see me? Can you all here me?" Lockhart preened, clearly enjoying himself.

Smiling, he started to pace the platform like the showman he really was. "Due to the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little duelling club, to train you up, just in case you ever need to defend yourself!" He ended his speech by throwing his cape into a group of fan girls who started to fight over the garment.

'That explains the cape,' finally understanding why he brought it at all. 'I wonder if Lockhart will get back that cape, or will it disappear to one of the fan girl alters?'

"Now let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," gesturing to the other end of the platform where her ever gloomy Head of House appeared, wand drawn and at the ready, taking everyone by surprise. "But don't worry; you'll have your potions master back, after I'm done with him."

"Money on Snape," she said to the people around her, already knowing the potion master's history as a death eater and a skilled duellist.

Watching the professors go through the ritualistic motions of the duel, the pair paced back to their starting points. "1, 2, 3," the over confident DADA teacher counted, clearly having no idea of Snape's past, otherwise he wouldn't be so relaxed about the whole affair. "_Expelliarmus"_ Snape shouted going instantly on the offensive by sending a powerful disarming charm at the other professor, the spell sent so quickly that their DADA teacher had no time to dodge or shield and got sent rocketing off the stage at the far end, where he was rapidly swarmed by his fans.

She quickly checked the audience for Harry, wondering just where he was to be missing this excellent bit of entertainment.

**Elsewhere in the Castle**

While the rest of the school was busy taking part in the duelling club, Harry was busy smuggling his guest into his dorm room, "_Rita_, don't you dare," he threatened, as Rita in her lady bug form crawled further down his top. "Don't make me _swat_ you," getting annoyed at Rita's usual antics.

Climbing the steps to Ravenclaw tower, he was soon standing outside the door. He checked the corridor to make sure that he was truly alone, "Now Rita, I'm going to open the door and I want you to fly inside." Seeing the bug take flight from his robes before hovering waiting, "Pie..." opening the door and stepping in, whilst activating the ward by pressing a connecting control crystal in his pocket and gesturing for the bug to follow.

As Rita flew through the doorway, the door pulsed with a golden glow and a web appeared out of nowhere looking just like a spider web. The magical web started forming rapidly around the bug, anchoring it in the doorway by trapping the animagus in a tight web, before the magical web started wrapping itself around the bug, the holes between the web so small the web looked like it would crush Rita. The web pulsed several times around the bug, before it stopped glowing, leaving just the humming web.

Checking the ward crystal that displayed the remaining power to the ward, he found that it was still going strong and had around 90% of its energy left after the capture. It was rapidly recharging though, drawing on the magical energy in the air and reached its maximum power in less than a minute. Reaching into his pocket he saw the connecting crystal control stone glowing, meaning the ward had been triggered by an animagus.

He smiled at his success, "Rita try to transform back," He instructed, before seeing the web's glow flicker a couple of times, before it stopped. Examining the magical web, he saw the lady bug was unmoving.

Tapping the control stone, to deactivate the ward, Rita managed to morph back to her human form before collapsing unconscious in the doorway.

"Damn," he said, very impressed with the effectiveness of the ward. Looking over the unconscious animagus, 'I got you now Peter' he thought vindictively, already brainstorming where to rig future traps.

**Great Hall**

"Wow, can you believe it? The Great Boy-Who-Lived, defeater of You-Know-Who, and enemy number one of Slytherin house is a parselmouth?" Tracy said for the second time, as she and Daphne mock duelled.

"Yes, it's most ironic, isn't it," discreetly casting a look over in the direction of the sulking Gryffindor. "An ability, a _gift_, that most purebloods would kill for, and he's sulking. At least its shut up Weasley and Malfoy," both of whom were clearly shaken by the night's revelations, albeit for different reasons. "I wonder how long till rumours start that he's the heir of Slytherin?" Stating the last part just a bit louder so more of her year mates could hear, "After all, it makes sense that a Parselmouth would be Slytherin's heir," She said, while appearing to think intently over the recent developments, to the point that she wasn't ready for Tracy's stinging hex.

Over the next half an hour they mock duelled, with Snape hovering around the Hall, just watching everyone. Already the students were watching Neville with hawk-like eyes, waiting for him to attack them. "It's funny how a simple statement can become a full blown rumour," she said proudly at her handy work as she left the Great Hall.

"Yea, I doubt he's the Heir," Tracy stated, coming to a similar conclusion herself. "Besides, Neville seems as surprised as the rest of us," noticing something she had missed as she thought over the observation.

"Indeed, only a fool would intentionally show such a talent under the current conditions. The whole school is going to be watching his movements now, the Aurors, the Professors, everyone, he just became the number one suspect."

"Oh well," her friend stated. "But I find it odd that Draco just happens to use a snake summoning charm against Neville, it feels _scripted_, as if it was planned. Professor Snape only started teaching Draco after the duelling club was announced."

"Possibly, but how did Professor Snape know?" she asked her friend.

"Maybe he didn't? Maybe it was test?" Tracy said, "After all, Neville was found at the scene of the first attack."

"Hey! What you two talking about?" Harry asked, surprising the both of them.

"Well, you would know if you went to the duelling club," she stated, already planning on telling Harry, since he would hear the news soon enough anyways, but she would at least try to get something out of him. "Where were you?"

"Reading some bank statements and reports, Sirius and my manager attend most of the discussions, or Andy does, while Sirius is out of the country, but I like to personally keep up to date on everything. After all, it would make it easier for when I finally take up the responsibility myself," he said seriously, while rubbing his Potter family ring. "On that subject I would like to talk with you Daphne, about a possible business venture, since your family runs one of the biggest clothing brands in Britain."

"Sure," she said carefully, wondering what possible business deal Harry was cooking up, "However, it is my father's discussion first and foremost; I can't talk on his behalf. It will be his discussion in the end, not mine."

"Of course. So what happened?"

"Longbottom is a parselmouth," Tracy stated, which made Harry blink several times.

"Interesting, I wonder if that will turn up in the Prophet tomorrow. So tell me exactly what happened," he said to Tracy as he listened to his friend give a detailed recounting of everything that happened.

**The Next Day**

Many people would say that it was unnecessary, but frankly yesterday's events had given him a means to strengthen his position within the school, at a rival's expense. After all, Neville was his most dangerous year mate from a popularity standpoint.

Looking over at the Gryffindor table, the lion himself looked rather down, still clearly not over what happened the previous day. Ah, here it comes he thought, as he saw the owls flying into the Great Hall, carrying their load of newspapers. He unfolded his copy of the Prophet, which for the most part he considered absolute trash; but it was still the most widely read newspaper in Britain.

Scanning the front page he saw nothing about Longbottom, 'so not front page news then,' flipping through the pages yet still finding no sign of the news he wanted, which was odd.

"Something wrong?" Padma asked, clearly noticing his above average interest in the Prophet today.

"Nothing major, just thought there might be some news," trying to sound as normal as possible. Whilst eating the rest of his breakfast, he thought over the available facts, clearly Rita hadn't been able to print it, and that meant either of two things, it'll either be in the next edition, or it had been blocked by another party or group who had paid off the Prophet not to print the story. Either way he would have to wait to confirm either theory this evening with Rita. It was either the Headmaster who had blocked the article, or Lady Longbottom herself, or both working together, since they were in a political alliance, but he was sure the information would leak out anyways.

After all, secrets _rarely_ stay secret, especially when a whole school of adolescent children know of it.

**Midnight Gold**

Looking inward, he put bits and pieces together, trying to solve a puzzle as another piece in his animagus jigsaw puzzle fell neatly into place. Wings both meant the desire for freedom, as well as a desire to reach the top. What else am I? I am not peaceful, but neither am I aggressive, I'm balance. Am I though? He thought, as he tried to objectively analyze the traits that made him whole.

I like puzzles and riddles, does that mean I like a challenge? Does that mean I'm active? He thought of his training each morning. What am I? He demanded of himself, getting annoyed at not being able to get some straight answers for once. Maybe I should just take the damn potion. _No_, I can do this, I'm stubborn and prideful, but confident, reassured of my worth.

I have anger and hate, but it's controlled; it doesn't control me. I have a temper, but it's controlled, I'm slow to anger, I feel love, joy, am I an emotionally balanced individual?

Feeling pressure on his shoulder, he opened his eyes to see Serenity resting there, holding a leg out with a letter.

"Thanks girl," taking the letter from the owl, "What would I do without you?" Watching as she puffed out her chest pridefully, he smiled, before pruning her feathers. Watching his owl, "Am I an Owl?" he asked aloud, just for Serenity to give him a look that said, 'I don't think so,' as she examined him closely.

"_What am I_?" he said for the hundredth time this evening.

"I'm not extremely friendly, nor am I a loner, I seek companionship with my equals?" examining his philosophy to making friends, "Value, I first made friends according to mutual gain and benefit," he stated as he helped Serenity remove a damage feather. "What defines me? Knowledgeable, prideful, arrogant, hardworking," he said listing what possibly defined him as a person. "I don't follow, I lead. Do I care what others do? Yes and no," thinking of Rita, and his friends and how he viewed the world.

"I'm manipulative, I lie and mislead, I steal, and I am cunning, I'm a trickster of sorts," feeling a bit lighter at making that insight.

Am I a predator or prey? He thought, changing his angle of thought. "Predator," He answered, already knowing that. Do I work alone? Or as a team, as a pack? Both, he answered. What determines the way I hunt? What determines how I work? How do I operate? Thinking back over his schemes, first stealing the stone, trapping Snape in a contract, taking advantage of Rita's situation, working with Madam Bones to free Sirius, the brooms, then the Chamber and Peter? 'I decide whether I need a team or not... weather the task is too big for me alone to achieve.'

He began thinking over the different styles of hunting in the wild, thinking of a wolf for a moment, before dismissing the idea since he was certain he had wings.

"Do I have wings?" just for Serenity to look at him with a look that said 'No you idiot, of course not...' A wolf can hunt freely, in the wilds, either by itself for smaller game, or with a pack for larger gamer... it stalks, it ambushes, it chases down, uses its own power... "Am I a wolf?" he said aloud, seeing how his traits could be seen that way.

"You don't look like one to me," Penny said cheerfully, as he sent her a look. "The door was unlocked..."

"What animal do you think I am?" He asked, wondering what his friend would say.

Catching her off guard with the unusual question before she put two and two together, she replied playfully, "Ehh... I don't know, a Lion?" Clearly taking the micky out of him.

"Yea yea, laugh it up fuzz ball," Going with a Han Solo quote.

"Don't be a spoil sport, your animagus form will be something deadly in its own right, you killed a troll last year, that's going to leave a mark," pointing out something he had missed whilst thinking over his form. "Probably some type of ambush predator, like a leopard, that would suit you well by the way. They are graceful, powerful, smart," she offered in explanation.

"Maybe," he admitted, seeing some of her points. "Would you like me to be a leopard?"

"As long as you're cute," she said playfully.

**End of Chapter**


	30. Y2 Festive Cheer

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M for safe**, **and mature themes**.

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 30: Festive Cheer**

**Posted 7th April 2013**

**Revised and Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

Excitement started to fill the air as the end of term rapidly approached. It was less than 3 weeks now until they would break up for Christmas holidays and be reunited with their families. However, he was on edge, more restless than he had been all of last year. Why? He didn't rightly know, just some sixth sense telling him that something was going to happen soon.

It was just this nagging feeling in the back of his mind; it had been far too long since there had been an attack or something. Not that he was just sitting around waiting for it to happen; already he was setting up ward traps all around his usual hang out places, under a simple, but powerful, _Notice-Me-Not_ charm, which was regularly recast every couple of days by Penny or Tonks. He had three set up in Ravenclaw tower alone, one in his room doorway, another one on the main entrance into the common room, and one over the pet/familiar entrance, which was big enough for cats, and therefore could easily be used by Pettigrew. Frankly, if he could have gotten away with it he would have rigged the whole tower with traps, but he couldn't. He had two in his potions lab; one was covering the door and the other was by the windows, ensuring that the room was safe.

However he would need more supplies before he could make and deploy additional ward traps around the school. He was even considering setting up another trap outside the Gryffindor common room, just on the off chance that Pettigrew had really been Ron's pet rat.

Unfortunately he had to abandon that idea, on the off chance that the trap would catch Professor McGonagall instead.

Despite everything going on, one series of events had played in his favour; he finally knew who was behind the break-in to his private potions lab, all thanks to Luna's comment.

He found out that it was Miss Granger who had taken the ingredients for the purpose of brewing polyjuice potion, seemingly so that she and her friends could infiltrate the Slytherin common room posing as Slytherin students and thereby interrogate Draco to find out whether he was the 'heir' or not. An ambitious, overly complicated and naive plan if he ever heard one.

So here he was, hidden under his invisibility cloak watching her brew away while talking to Moaning Myrtle floating in the background. Most of their small talk was the worthless type of common gossip that girls often took part in, but some of it was actually of value to him. It was just little bits and pieces of information really, like Ron's greatest fear was spiders. Who would have expected that? Maybe he should let slip that there were man-eating Acromantulas in the forbidden forest?

Or the fact that Neville was currently being stalked by a rogue house elf by the name of Dobby, who desired Neville to leave Hogwarts because of the Chamber of Secrets being opened. And who also was the party responsible for bewitching the Bludgers during the last Quidditch game, what the Aurors around the school were currently treating as an attempted assassination by Pettigrew. It took all of his control not to burst into a raucous laughing fit; it was a shame that Kreacher wasn't so motivated to 'help' his masters.

The thing he found most interesting was that Hermione had made several references to the Marauder's Map, giving him the impression that at least the Twins knew of it and might know where it was. Which finally gave him the lead he needed to start tracking it down, after all, anyone could have it. It had been many years since it was first confiscated by Filch.

So here he was, listening intently as the thieving lioness talked to the teenage ghost, unaware that she was being listened to. He watched as she added crushed bicorn horn to the mixture, giving the lioness credit for trying to brew a NEWT level potion as a second-year; he knew first hand just how difficult the task was, but still, she had stolen from him and that couldn't stand.

While the ingredients' monetary value was a minor issue at best, it was the principle of the matter. So the question was how to get even? After all, he counted himself even with the headmaster now, albeit only after successfully stealing both the priceless Mirror of Erised and the Philosopher's Stone, even if the latter was by mistake rather than design. The headmaster had had _quite_ the debt to pay, for the pain and suffering of his terrible childhood, the mismanagement of his family's assets and the huge amount of money the man had stolen from him.

Naturally, he could simply find the closest professor and inform them of his discovery, but that would draw unwanted attention to himself and he would be effectively painting a target on his back. And the staff would inevitably ask why he followed Hermione into the girls' bathroom of all places. Frankly he didn't want rumours flying around that he was a perv or a stalker. Then, depending on which staff member he reported Hermione to, she might actually be rewarded for her efforts.

The easy answer to that would be to walk down to the potion master's office and tell the bitter potions master of it, who would then predictably unleash his pent up anger at the girl, and her friends if he timed it right. But, again, he would gain nothing but being labelled as a 'rat,' which was something that he wanted to avoid being known as. And honestly he seriously doubted Professor Snape would reward him for his trouble.

He could just stun her and take the unfinished potion for himself, but that would raise other concerns and issues. First, it wasn't complete; sure he could probably find out its current stage of brewing by finding a decent potions book, but it was risky. There was also a chance he could be found in the process of making the Ministry controlled potion.

So the question was 'what to do?' as he watched the lioness leave, after packing away her things and hiding the bubbling cauldron.

He could always go and talk to the deputy headmistress, who would surely be grateful to him for informing her of her lion's illicit activities so that she could handle it within the house and conduct proper damage control. But then again she might end up going too soft on them, since both Hermione and Neville were her own favourites. Leaving the second floor bathroom, he continued to debate his options as he silently slipped into a side passage and removed his invisibility cloak and quickly stuffed it into his bag.

He needed time to come up with an appropriate plan and to carefully consider his options. Only fools rush when then there is no need to. He knew he was not infallible by any stretch of the imagination. As his study of history had shown, repeatedly, even the greatest, most calculating of minds made mistakes.

**Week before the End of Term**

Walking down the festive corridor to his potions lab, he was willing to admit that the house elves had really gone out of their way this year to create a feeling of cheer, in and around the school. However, as he approached his 'lab' the hanging silver and gold crystalline Christmas decorations started glowing, pulsing with light and energy from within, catching his attention, 'That's quite nice...' he thought while watching intently, the energy seeming to grow and gather like a bottled storm. He stepped up to the lab door and muttered the new passphrase, before looking again at the beautifully glowing decorations with a sudden sense of foreboding gathering in his stomach.

Boom! The one closest to him exploded and the rest followed suit, sending shards of glass hurtling towards him, as his wand immediately jumped into his hand, with just enough time to summon a hastily cast shield with an adrenaline fuelled flick and jab of his wand before the other hanging decorations started exploding around him in union sending glass fragments at him from all sides. An explosive wave of energy followed in their wake and he realized instantly that his hastily constructed basic shield would surely fail under such concentrated power.

In that instant he felt the first pangs of doubt and fear since entering the magical world and taking control of both his life and destiny. All his efforts, all his training meant next to nothing against such overwhelming power. Mind paralyzing panic and fear nearly took his life before his hard-won occlumency shields finally kicked in. In that moment he felt what could only be described as an utter clarity of purpose, and his purpose was to live. Just as his shield was about to fail under the explosive wave of magical energy, his training kicked in sending him into motion by throwing himself through the opened doorway, while grabbing the door and slamming it shut behind him.

He hit the stone floor _hard_, his back strongly protesting this abuse as the wooden door buckled under the force of the blast, before it quickly blew off its magically reinforced hinges and rocketed towards him like a Katherine wheel. The magical fire following into the lab, as if trying to finish the job it started.

'_Oh fuck me_' he mentally shouted as he rolled to one side, the door rocketing past his head and going through the supposedly unbreakable castle window, missing him by mere centimetres, the heat wave burning his face as the fire reached the first desk.

He frantically got to his feet to combat this next threat to his life and heard a voice seeming to come from the very walls, "All students please return to your common rooms immediately," the Deputy Headmistress' voice being heard throughout the entire school, "Prefects, please escort the younger students." He paid little attention to this as he was desperately conjuring water with several complex twists of his wand, remembering the wand moments from a 3rd year charm's book, while mentally forming the image of a large ball of water within his mind and focusing on his desire for water. Not exactly hard in this situation. "Aqua Pila!" He exclaimed, his wand protesting a bit as only a small ball of water left the tip of his wand, impacting the table and pushing back the flames for a moment.

Whilst naturally ecstatic at successfully casting the third year spell on his first attempt, the spell had little noticeable effect on the spreading fire. As smoke grew and gathered in the room making breathing difficult, he repeated the spell, channelling more power this time yet still feeling the same resistance from his wand. This time a football-sized ball of water launched itself at the flames.

Realising that he was losing the battle with the magical fire, he looked towards his only remaining means of escape, the windows. Quickly conjuring another ball of water, the large orb grew on his wand, growing bigger the longer he held the spell and focused on his desire, feeling the subtle pull on his magical core, before unleashing the overpowered spell at the fire to buy a little bit of time.

Sweeping his wand, he sent a quick banishing charm at the window, pushing it open, and causing a billow of smoke to erupt out into the winter air.

He launched himself forward towards the open window, 'far better a broken leg or two than being burnt alive,' he mentally told himself as he leapt out the window, putting his faith in surviving the short fall.

Instantly feeling the biting cold on his burned face, gravity took control, pulling him down to the snow covered ground below. He pulled his legs in tight trying to ensure that he landed legs first rather than face first, just as he remembered the levitation charm. Flicking his wand again, he easily cast the first year charm on himself, but it was too little too late as he crashed into the ground going much too fast. He heard the all too familiar 'snapping' sound he easily recognised as bones breaking and an intense pain in his leg. With every iota of knowledge on how to fall with minimal injury running through his occlumency enhanced mind, he bent his knees and rolled forward in the snow, tucking his chin tightly against his chest to prevent a neck injury and slapping the ground to bleed off his momentum. He finally came to a stop, lying on his back, entirely still, looking up into the empty grey sky, as he focused on blocking out the nearly unbearable pain.

Looking down at his leg he saw that the bone had broken through his flesh, looking like polished ivory painted with wet crimson, a seedling reaching for the sky, and his blood tainting the fairy tale white snow, turning it a sickly pink.

"Mr Potter!" Professor Sprout exclaimed, the head of Hufflepuff house rushing over to him from the direction of the greenhouses, as a group of students followed behind her. "What happened here?!"

Remembering Professor McGonagall's announcement he realized that his student audience was probably being escorted by the professor. "_Pettigrew_ just tried to kill me again," he said bitterly, thinking it was rather easy to tell all things considered, since he wouldn't have jumped out of a multi-story window without a damn good reason. '_At least now I've had my two per year_,' trying to stay positive, '_but the year ends in just over 3 weeks_.'

"We should get you to the hospital wing immediately," Professor Sprout said recovering her wits.

'No shit', he mentally retort.

**Hospital Wing**

Gagging at the sour taste of the bone regrowth potion, Tonks took the empty glass away, as the matron brought out several more potions. "Mr. Potter, drink these." The nurse instructed, first handing him another numbing draught to numb the intense pain before giving him another blood replenishing potion which he recognised from when Penny was being treated last year.

"Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall greeted stiffly, entering the hospital wing.

"Good afternoon," he responded with fake cheer and a good measure of sarcasm. "Have the Aurors found out how Pettigrew got into the school and halls? How he was able to bewitch the decorations outside the potions lab I've used all year long to explode without being detected?" he fired off in a quick volley. "After all, I'm starting to question why I pay Ministry taxes and why the Aurors are even here in the first place if they can't do their _job_," he said in earshot of the two Aurors standing outside the medical wing.

"Be nice, Harry," Tonks chided gently from his bedside whilst the Deputy Headmistress seemed to be wrestling with similar questions herself.

"So Harry can you tell me exactly what happened?" the Deputy Headmistress enquired.

"Shouldn't Madam Bones be here?" he asked, wondering where the head of magical law enforcement was, so he could voice his complaints properly.

"Madam Bones is in a meeting with the Headmaster and with your Godfather, they should be here soon. I just want to get the key details of what happened so I can start securing the school," the Deputy Headmistress explained.

He recounted his memory of the events, how he was effectively backed into the potions lab by the fire and being forced to jump out the window as a last resort.

"That was very brave of you Mr. Potter, it's a shame you're not in my own house," Professor McGonagall stated, almost with a sigh.

"Not really," getting a curious glance from the Deputy Headmistress and the matron, "It was the only logical option, and gave me the best chance of surviving as I couldn't defeat the flames. The window was the only option, there was nothing brave about it, it was simply do or die," he explained, before his curiosity got the better of him. "Why was the fire so resistant to water, I know it was magical fire, but I would have thought water spells would have been more effective."

"And that's why my cousin is a Ravenclaw, even after almost getting burnt alive, he's asking questions about the magic involved." Tonks said affectionately, before messing up his hair.

"Hey!" he protested, trying to stop his cousin's antics.

"Miss Tonks, please restrain yourself or I'll be forced to ask you to leave," the matron warned, giving the 7th year a serious look.

"To answer your question Mr. Potter, there is an herb, commonly known as Firegrass or Dragon's Tongue, and is the ingredient most often used to make most anti-fire potions. When it's processed, broken down and added to several other magical substances, it makes a tar. This tar is called Wetsbreath, the name is rather misleading and unassuming, since it was named after its creator, but it can be use to protect objects from water damage. The polish you use on your Quidditch broom to protect it, actually contains Wetsbreath as one of its base components. Of course there are also spells on your brooms offering the same type of protection, but spells fade if not maintained. What is less known about this tar is that when it is exposed to fire, it changes the properties of magical fire, making it resistant to water until it is fully consumed by the fire it's exposed to. We believe Peter placed this tar within each decoration," the Deputy Headmistress remarked.

"Interesting," he admitted, finding a bit more respect for Pettigrew after using such a clever attack; if the man had been waiting in the lab instead he would have been dead, which was rather sobering.

"Peter was always good at potions Mr. Potter, he was surprisingly third place in your father's year in potions, behind both your mother and Professor Snape. If Peter desired, he could have probably studied and received a mastery in potions."

"I didn't know that," he admitted reluctantly, feeling bit foolish for not knowing more about the man who was repeatedly attempting to kill him.

"I'm not surprised, everyone overlooked him, even myself," the Gryffindor head of house offered. "In my defence it was easy to do when you place him with your father and godfather, who were always causing trouble and chaos. _Peter_ was never extraordinary at magic, and struggled at NEWT Level in both charms and DADA. But he was very good at the secondary fields of magics, like runes and potions, because they don't rely on active magic usage, just understanding, precision and patience."

"I'll send around a note to the staff that you are excused from lessons until Thursday," the Deputy Headmistress said, "However, you still have to do your homework," giving a half-hearted stern look.

Smiling at the remark, "Madam, I always do my homework, and it has never been less than Outstanding when it's been marked fairly and without personal bias," reminding her of Snape's past actions.

"Indeed, your homework has always been up to a good standard, just like your mother's was," the Deputy Headmistress said fondly, "Your father's homework was always rushed and looked like it was written in code. That boy was too busy pranking, playing Quidditch, and chasing girls to focus on work."

"Oh, I know," he offered with mischievous smile which easily caught her attention. "Sirius has been trying to get me to take up the marauder code," he said good humour, watching as the Deputy Headmistress seemed to pale at the remark. "He said something about a cat bowl and the '_Gemino Curse'"_.

"I can teach you that if you want?" Tonks said whilst hiding her grin from the Deputy Headmistress.

"That man!" the cat animagus screeched.

"Talking about me?" Sirius enquired with a smirk as he entered the hospital wing. "I know you've missed me."

**Next Day**

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?" Penny enquired from her place by his bedside, which was ironic considering it was the same seat he used when he was talking to Penny a year earlier.

Looking around the hospital wing, he saw no one, only hearing the matron listening to her music in her office, "Can you put a privacy ward up please," he requested, his eyes lingering on Penny slightly longer than normal.

"Give me a sec," the 6th year replied as her wand danced in her hand while muttering an incantation, a blue dome forming around them for an instant before fading from sight altogether. The only sign the spell was in place was the blue line of energy on the floor.

"I found out who stole my supplies," he stated, watching Penny carefully, as he saw her consider his statement.

"So, what do you want with me? Is this some type of scheme? Otherwise you would have told the teachers already," Penny stated with her own coy smile.

Smiling at her sentence, 'she really does know me,' he thought. "Well, Miss Granger is currently brewing Polyjuice potion in the second floor girls' bathroom, ironically the same one with Myrtle in it," getting a nod from the elder Ravenclaw that she was following, also making note to talk to Daphne about it, wondering how the Slytherin had missed it.

"Polyjuice is a Ministry controlled substance, which allows an individual to take on the appearance of another for a single hour. It also has a prison sentence of up to 5 years if someone's caught illegally brewing it without ministry approval," he stated.

"Neville and his crew plan to use it to sneak in to the Slytherin dorm rooms and interrogate Draco Malfoy," recalling the discussion easily from memory. "What I want you to do is show a professor the potion, say you found it and saw Miss Granger working on it when you had to pop into the bathroom. Myrtle will be your evidence, since she's been talking with the young lioness. If you time it right, you can get Neville, Ron, Dean and Seamus all caught at the scene of the crime."

"I don't want to send the five of them to jail," Penny said firmly.

"I know, neither do I, and I doubt that would happen anyways," he admitted, he just wanted to make a point. "But I want to get back at them for stealing my stuff," he said firmly.

"Neville will be protected due to his fame, and the fact that his grandmother's on the Board of Governors. Ron's family is close allies with the headmaster, and the headmaster will protect the rest. Worst case they will get a Ministry warning and a letter home. But, they will probably end up with detentions and a major house point reduction. This will hopefully cause them to drop to last place for the house cup. And Neville might just be banned from playing Quidditch for the rest of the year," he lectured.

"Effectively making Ravenclaw favourites to win both cups," Penny ended, seeing where he was going with this.

"Exactly," he answered with a firm nod, smiling at his friend. "Now if you tell Professor Snape, the consequences will probably be the most extreme, and they may end up in the papers since Draco's father will hear of it and will use it to strike at the headmaster. I'd rather avoid that, but you would properly earn the man's respect for turning in troublemakers and for it being Gryffindors to boot. You will probably also get his support to be the Head Girl next year," he said with a sly smile. "Or you tell the Deputy Headmistress instead," as he rolled his hand, gesturing for her to continue his frame of thought.

"And she will punish them firmly, and I can earn her favour." Penny said after a while, "But it wouldn't be as harsh to their records and will probably be kept quiet."

"Indeed, they will get punished, but not to the point where it would be on their permanent records and Neville probably won't get kicked off the team," he answered. "You can also say to the headmistress that you came to her over our own head of house to help keep it discreet, so it wouldn't affect their permanent records. You get seen as thoughtful and considerate and responsible, all positive qualities one would look for in a Head Girl. Your grades are already top notch, and you can position yourself as the early favourite to be the next Head Girl."

"So you want me to be the Head Girl then?" Penny asked thoughtfully, her eyes locking on to his own, seeing one of his motives.

"Yes," he answered firmly. "I want you to do well, the Head Girl position is a highly respected position, and will help you if you decide to work at the Ministry. Even if I could find you a better paying job working for me," he stated with smirk. "It also will benefit me here in the school. I can't get my ingredients back, but I like the idea of having the Head Girl as my friend," he answered with a grin, '_and in my pocket_.'

She shook her head in disbelief, before saying, "Playing all the angles aren't you."

"Well, I've had just over a week to think about it, plus I've spent most of yesterday stuck in this bed," patting the bed. "It's your choice. If you don't want to, I can always ask Daphne to do it," mentioning the cold Slytherin.

"I'll do it," Penny confirmed, clearly knowing the Slytherin wouldn't hesitate to tell Snape.

He smiled at her answer, "Thanks Penny, I knew I could count on you," giving her hand a firm squeeze.

"Why me? Why not do it yourself?"

"If I reported them, I would gain nothing really but a pat on the back and a good job. It would also suggest it's personal, they stole from me after all; it is a conflict of interest. Plus everyone knows I have bit of an academic rivalry going on with Miss Granger," he answered with a half-hearted smile, "Or I could have told the 5th year prefect and gained a favour or two from them, but I would much rather help you," giving her hand another squeeze, not mentioning that Percy would probably be Head Boy next year, and Penny's elevation would help get him off Harry's backside.

**That Evening**

"Miss Clearwater, what can I do for you?" Professor McGonagall enquired from behind her office desk.

Going over what she was going to say, she straightened her back and spoke, "Professor, I found Miss Granger brewing a potion in the second floor girls' bathroom. I thought I'd inform you since it's against the school rules," she offered, having already checked out the second floor bathroom after leaving the hospital wing, just to see the lioness brewing away in the middle of the bathroom floor, talking away to Myrtle.

"I believe its polyjuice potion she brewing, for whatever reason," she explained curiously. "I know from my own NEWT level studies that polyjuice is a dangerous, ministry controlled potion. I thought it best to inform you rather than let something like this get blown out of hand by the wrong people," playing the responsible adult card just like Harry had suggested.

"Show me," she stated, rising from her chair, a frown painted on her face.

She lead the Head of Gryffindor house to the empty second floor bathroom and straight over to the potion, hidden away in one of the bathroom stalls.

"Here Professor," gesturing at the disgusting potion, her heart beating hard as the Professor stepped forward to examine it, before sighing in disappointment.

Watching as the professor flicked her wand over the cauldron, she easily recognized the stasis charm she had learnt earlier in the year, "Miss Clearwater, are you sure it was Miss Granger?"

"Yes, I believe so, she was talking to Myrtle," Penny stated, wondering what was happening. The next couple of minutes passed as the deputy headmistress questioned her about what she saw, before the bathroom door opened and Professor Snape entered, his eyes locking onto them.

"Professor McGonagall," the smooth talking Potions Master greeted, "I heard that there was an unknown potion being brewed in this bathroom, is this the culprit?" His eyes locking onto her before looking away in annoyance, as she fought to keep the smile off her face as she remembered Harry's magical contract in place with the potion master.

"No, Miss Clearwater just reported this to me," the Headmistresses stated, her back growing straighter, like a puffer fish. "Could you please examine this potion," gesturing to the frozen potion. "Miss Clearwater just found it," as the potions master stepped forward to examine the mixture.

Several moments passed before the resident potion master answered, "Polyjuice potion I believe, a couple days away from completion," just as the bathroom doors opened and the lioness herself entered.

"Neville it will be done in a couple of days, this potion can't be rushed," Hermione stated, looking over her shoulder as Neville and Ron entered with Dean and Seamus in tow.

"Miss Granger, trust only you to have the arrogance to brew this mixture," Professor Snape stated immediately at hearing the confession. She stepped back behind the professor wondering if somehow Harry had engineered this, before dismissing it, as the lioness froze just past the doorway. It was just too prefect, there was no way Harry could have masterminded their arrival from the hospital wing. '_Maybe this way, I get both of their gratitude and support for the Head Girl position?_' Privately wondering if this was Harry's plan along_._

"Miss Granger, Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Finnigan you will come with me to my office at once," the Deputy Headmistress stated firmly, "Professor Snape please dispose of the incomplete potion."

"Professor McGonagall," Professor Snape stated, "I'd like to remind you that Polyjuice potion is a Ministry controlled substance, punishable by imprisonment of 5 years," the man stated smoothly, almost smiling as he looked at the five lions like he had just gotten an early Christmas present, as the group paled, now realizing the real trouble they were in.

"I'm well aware of that little fact," the Deputy Headmistress replied coldly. "There punishment will be fitting, I can assure you," before she looked over at me.

"Miss Clearwater, you are no longer needed, you are dismissed," the Head of Gryffindor stated.

"Yes Professor," answering back and fleeing the bathroom's oppressive atmosphere as quickly as she could, ignoring the five sets of stares.

**Next Morning**

Strolling to the gossiping Great Hall, he wondered what damage had been done to Gryffindor due to last night's events; after all Penny had been unable to stay around and watch the fall out. Inspecting the hourglass he saw that Gryffindor had gone from second place to last place overnight, losing a total of 210 points between them, to the point that the Gryffindor hour glass was actually empty.

The Slytherin table seemed ecstatic, almost celebrating, whilst the Gryffindor table looked heartbroken. Wood looked positively murderous as he tucked into his breakfast.

"So what happened?" He asked the table, whilst he lowered himself into his seat, wanting to get the facts.

"Some second-year Gryffindors got caught brewing a Ministry controlled substance. Rumour has it that Neville got pulled off the Quidditch team too," Reese said.

"Oh, I was looking forward to playing against him," he answered back, playing the disappointment card, but smiling on the inside at his handy work, until he noticed Penny's frown. Moving over to sit next to her, "What's up?" he inquired, wanting to know what got his friend down.

"Did you send Snape?" she accused quietly, between bites of her toast.

"No," he answered back carefully. "But I think I know who did," as he watched the Slytherin Trio enter the hall. "Both Daphne and Tracy were tasked with talking to Myrtle remember? They would have surely known about the potion."

**Midnight Gold**

Stepping off the Hogwarts Express after a rather tedious journey, his eyes began to dart around the platform, examining it in detail whilst looking for his godfather. The platform was decorated in traditional Christmas decorations, with enchanted snow falling, but disappearing upon the ground and a grand Christmas tree standing off to one side, sparkling in the natural light as the charmed crystal snowflakes danced in the light.

Smiling at the sight before him, energetic parents reunited with their kids for Christmas holidays after being parted for several months. It was truly moving, to see first-years reunite with their parents and witness the clear happiness at simply being together again after so long apart. But it was bittersweet also, since it reminded him of what he had lost and that he could never have that same moment with his own parents, he only could watch, but not feel. Yes, he was not alone anymore, he had Sirius now as his guardian, but he could never replace his parents. Not that Sirius had tried; his Godfather had fallen into the role of an older brother rather than a parent figure.

Of course, he also had the Tonks family who treated him like a son of their own, so it wasn't all bad. Finally he spotted his godfather standing with Ted and Andy as the crowds parted shortly, busy talking away with another couple. Whilst his godfather's best friend Remus stood in the background, clearly wanting to be there, but uncomfortable with interacting with the other couple.

Realizing that they hadn't spotted him yet, he made his way slowly over to the group weaving in and out of the crowds, watching their body language for any hints of who they were.

He then noticed Daphne standing in the lady's shadow talking to what appeared to be a smaller version of herself, making it clear that it was Lord and Lady Greengrass with Daphne's younger sister.

"Nicholas, I'll be attending the Wizengamot after the new year. I just wanted to enjoy my freedom for a bit longer," his godfather explained in a reassuring tone. "Plus the last couple of months have given me the necessary time to recover from my false imprisonment; I looked like a corpse before, and felt like one too," his godfather joked, before becoming surprisingly serious. "It also gave me the time needed to catch up on what I've missed in the last decade. Who's who and where they stand, the new players in the ministry, as well my own family affairs that had to be put in order after so long left unattended, before I could even _think_ about taking on any more responsibilities."

"Perfectly understandable Sirius, I think all of us would want a long break after such an ordeal," Lord Greengrass said in a rich, refined male voice.

"Indeed, Godfather. It was only the sensible thing to do, rather than jumping right into the deep end of the political swimming pool of the Wizengamot," making his presence known to the group. "Lord and Lady Greengrass, it's good to finally meet you in person. Once again I'd like to apologise for cancelling my visit with you this summer, but I had to focus on investigating my godfather's false imprisonment."

"Ah Mr. Potter, so good to finally meet you," Lord Greengrass stated, offering his hand to shake, before gesturing to his wife, "This is my wife and my youngest daughter, you already know Daphne," whilst gesturing to each one in turn.

"I can see where Daphne gets her stunning beauty from," he said smoothly, kissing Lady Greengrass' hand while turning on the charm, before next turning to their youngest daughter. "And you must be Astoria," giving her small hand a peck on her knuckles and being rewarded with a blush. He could see Daphne rolling her eyes at his antics already knowing it was nothing more than an act, a show.

"Ah, the famous Potter charm lives on, I think you might have some competition there Sirius," Nicholas joked good naturedly.

"Maybe, but the Pup still has much to learn," reminding Harry of a Jedi. "Give me a couple more years, he'll have even Cynthia here blushing like a first-year," Sirius joked, whilst getting a snort from Lady Greengrass. "How have you been Pup?" Sirius greeted, pulling him into a tight hug, whilst Harry discreetly nodded to Remus in silent greeting, just so he didn't appear to be rude.

"Fine, even with the attempted assassination on me," he replied as he wormed his way out of the over-the-top hug, already knowing Daphne would keep reminding him of this for years to come. "It just stops the schoolwork from getting boring and adds some spice to the old place."

"Are you sure you're not a Gryffindor?" Sirius asked carefully. "That sounds rather Gryffindorish to me, hardly that of a bookworm Ravenclaw," whilst the group grinned with the exception of Lady Greengrass and her eldest.

Snorting, thereby making his disgust known to all before returning fire, "Do you even know what a lion does in the wild? Look it up, you will be most disappointed, actually it might be perfectly suited to you, far better to be an eagle than a lazy overgrown cat that spends most of his time eating and sleeping."

"Ah, play nice," Sirius scolded.

"Nah, I play to win," making his philosophy clear. "Whoever said it was taking part that counts, probably never won anything in his or her whole life," whilst the Greengrasses watched the unfolding banter, clearly examining the dynamics of how their relationship worked. Or at least Daphne and her mother were, whilst Nicholas seemed to be busy trying not to chuckle at their antics.

"I don't think I'm going to win this," his godfather stated, clearly wondering what his comeback should be, but couldn't counter quickly enough in the end.

"You're not going to win a battle of wits and philosophy with a Ravenclaw Sirius, not even a second year one," Lord Greengrass advised with clear humour in his voice and smile.

"Then I gracefully surrender, I take my hat off to you good sir," Sirius joked, taking the offered path out and giving him a mocking bow.

"I accept," he said cheerfully and magnanimously, "But first we'll have to get you a hat, I think a top hat would be the most fitting, don't you?"

"Now that you boys are done," Lady Greengrass said with coldness that made Daphne's own seem like a warm summer's day. "Sirius, now that Harry's here, do the two of you fancy coming over for a meal over Christmas?" Lady Greengrass inquired, really giving the impression of a winter queen with her white fur coat, reminding him of the witch queen from the book series, _The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe_.

"I see no reason why not, I've got some plans for me and Harry up till Christmas, but we've got a couple of days free after that, how about the 29th?" Sirius answered back.

"Excellent," Lady Greengrass agreed. "What are your plans until then?" which was the question he wanted to ask his godfather too, since his godfather had been extremely secretive of their Christmas plans.

"Well, I currently have an international port-key booked for this evening to take us to Paris where we will spend the next four days. After all, you said you wanted to see the place, why not go now rather than wait." His godfather grinned madly, completely taking him by surprise.

The news left him speechless; he never expected something so bold or so grand.

"That sounds wonderful Sirius," Nicholas agreed.

**Iceland**.

"What do you think Pup?" Sirius asked from their adventure point in the hotel they were staying at for the next couple of days. It turns out they weren't going to Paris, they were really going to Iceland, to throw off any would be assassins which wished them harm. Stating Paris on the platform was just to plant a false lead.

Looking over the small magical village, snow gently drifted down from above, "It's beautiful," he whispered, allowing a rare smile to spread across his features as he watched a couple of kids have a snowball fight with enchanted snowmen whilst their parents watched on.

"Yea, you don't get this in England, just a lot of rain," his uncle joked good naturedly.

Sighing, "It's a shame really," causing his godfather to look at him in question. "That we're only here for a couple of days. I think I could get used to this," gesturing at the village.

"We we can always come back here next year," Sirius offered, "Or we can always move here, and you can just be homeschooled instead, it's not like we can't afford the tutors," his godfather replied. "Besides the witches aren't half bad here either," his godfather's eyes tracking a nearby witch.

Considering the suggestion seriously for a moment, it was a very appealing idea to just leave all the drama of Magical Britain behind, but he would also be leaving his friends. Sure he could make new ones, but it wouldn't be the same, plus his current friendships were all beneficial. "It has its merits, but Britain's my home." At that statement his godfather burst into laughter, his voice echoing out, causing some people in the alley to look up at the madman his uncle was. "What?!" he demanded angrily, wondering what he said?

Wiping away a fake tear, "I always considered you a cold-hearted brat, but you do have a heart, it just takes some ice to melt it," causing his godfather to laugh even more at the joke. "So are you and Greengrass dating? Both of you are similarly icy." Ignoring the stupid remark he stepped back into the room to sit on the sofa, enjoying the heat of the log fire. "Ah come on, don't sulk."

Knowing that he was sulking just a little bit, "I'm not," he answered back, "I just don't have anything to say, besides Daphne is in contract with Blaise." He offered in explanation as He took a meat pie from the nearby silver tray, resting on the Mahogany table next to the sofa.

"Oh, I didn't know," taking a seat on the other soft, "I thought that was the reason for the Greengrass family's increased interest in us," his godfather confessed.

"Maybe, but the contract is only in the first stage so a couple of years down the line it's possible, but their interest is probably just business interests at work. Between the two of us we own something in almost every sector of the British magical economy, or will soon, now that we are properly managing our interests. We lost a lot of ground in the last two decades, with the war, and then your imprisonment, and my previous guardian's mismanagement and thievery," he answered, giving his own opinion. "Either way, that's alot of indirect influence in the backrooms of politics. Plus it's not just one faction we have business deals with, we're pretty diversified. It wouldn't surprise me if we had at least one mutual business interest with almost every current Wizengamot member. I think I have two with the Greengrass family currently, in the ingredients and potions sectors," not being able to answer accurately off the top of his head. "Probably more soon as I've got a business proposal that the Greengrasses are ideally suited for."

"Yea, good point," Sirius admitted. "I think I'm going to start ending some of the legacy of business relationships with a number of the darker families; mainly the ones that I know for a fact were You-Know-Who supporters, or were outright marked Death Eaters. I don't want anything to do with that trash; if I am going to stay neutral in the Wizengamot for the next decade, I think it would be better for us anyways."

He thought over his godfather's plans, "Yeah, despite our recent successes we are too exposed as a family. We have no real allies in government, and if we push too hard, everything could fall apart. On the business side, it's a risky move; we will have to talk to both of our account managers about that, because it could have unforeseen ripple effects on our possible allies and we could lose them as a result. We would have to warn them in advance, plus that way it hurts the targeted families more if several of their trading partners break their deals and thereafter trade exclusively with us," he stated, thinking over the risks, but seeing the chance at profit.

"However, I don't have that particular problem; my ancestors were pretty light sided with their business dealings, with some neutral dealings as well. So I'll mainly be consolidating my assets for the next half a decade, getting it all in order for the most part whilst I get my education as I can't do much whilst I'm stuck in Hogwarts. I'll leave it to Bloodmoon to manage, with you overseeing it. But most of all I want to reopen the Potter Docklands," he admitted. "With that up and running I'm no longer exclusively bound to the British markets. Plus that way I have another area to expand into, rather than encroaching on another family's controlled sectors. Hopefully that way I won't upset anyone local at least." It really was one of the fundamental problems with the British magical economy; it was held firmly in the control of various monopolies all run by different factions and guilds from the 16th century. Everyone had their entrenched and fortified place in the system, to a point, and as long as the ministry got their gold, they didn't care that the economy stagnated, with new ideas and players stifled or brought down.

"Yea, I was wondering when you were going to do that," Sirius replied at the same time as walking over to a bottle of brandy. "That's going to step on a few people's toes you know. Plus you risk making overseas enemies."

"Yea, but the Docks should have been repaired and rebuilt as soon as the war was over, but they weren't and we lost all our business in that sector and the effect of that has rippled into others, increasing expenses. Before, the Potter family could just import anything they needed using their own docks and ships rather than having to pay all the middle men their fees. Plus the docks have been in Potter hands since the 11th century, and it's a matter of pride. Besides, everyone will think it was your decision not mine, after all, I'm just a second year, you're the Lord," he argued.

"Thanks for that, more wands pointed at my back," Sirius grumbled.

"You said I was a cold hearted brat, I might as well earn that little title," he said with good humour. "On that note, I've been meaning to bring this up, but the Aurors stationed at the school are useless. And both of us are going to have some powerful enemies who would wish us out of the way or dead. I think we need to consider recruiting some private security of our own, rather than relying on the Ministry.

"Hmm," Sirius stated whilst drinking his brandy. "I guess a couple of bodyguards could be useful. Plus it will help me sleep better at night. But be aware it will be seen as a weakness on our part; the implication will be that we can't protect ourselves."

Seriously considering Sirius' statement he answered with a sceptical "Maybe."

"The headmaster will be overseeing additional wards being constructed at Hogwarts over the holidays by the way; however most of them are going to be anti-animagus wards, the whole school is going to be covered in them soon." Sirius offered from his chair.

"That's good to know," feeling a small measure of comfort, whilst making a note to keep Rita out of the school for the foreseeable future.

"Yea, at least the wards around my room are close to unbreakable, Hogwarts' defences are most impressive," whilst thinking just how fast his rather crude animagus capturing net ward had recharged, almost like it was being helped along by something else.

"Hogwarts protects her own," Sirius said firmly. "Do you still believe Lucius is behind the opening of the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Yes, I have faith in my Agent's skills," having total faith in Rita in this regard. "I'm just wondering who the person in the school controlling it is. We were checking on anyone with links to Slytherin and the surname Riddle. The last time the Chamber was opened a Tom Riddle was involved, who at the time was a Slytherin and the Head Boy, along with Hagrid. Frankly Hagrid may love dangerous beasts, but he would never intentionally hurt someone," he stated, certain that Hagrid was innocent.

"Ah," several minutes passed in silence. "I think I might have to start attacking Lord Malfoy's interests."

Taking a sip of the Honeybrew beer, he thought over his godfather's statement, "I suggest you wait." He stated seriously, not wanting to get caught in the crosshairs. "If you start attacking him too soon you will scare away potential allies, who won't want to get caught between you and the Malfoy family. Wait a couple of months at least, gather allies, and then show them how they can profit from attacking Lucius' interests. Need I remind you that the Minister just happens to be good friends with Lucius, so don't be surprised if you come under a Ministry investigation or two. However, I happen to know a couple of potential allies already who would love to see Malfoy fall, first the Greengrass family and second the Bones. I bet Madam Bones would love to see Lord Malfoy fall from grace, just so that she could finally investigate him without interference."

"Besides, if we're lucky, we won't even have to attack him, from what I've heard Lord Nott already is. And the Headmaster knows Lord Malfoy is the mastermind behind the Chamber. Let them hit him first and you may only have to finish what is started, and watch him get thrown in your old cell for his involvement in the Chamber."

"Yes, that would be a rather fitting punishment," his godfather's smile turning darker at the thought of the Death Eater warming his old cell. "And without the head of the family, it all falls apart. Cissa is no Lucius, she won't be able hold the sinking ship together, as everyone turns into vultures over the Malfoy family assets. The best she could do would be to find another Lord willing to shelter her and her son."

"We could always invite them back into the family," Harry offered.

"Why would we do that?" Sirius inquired.

"Because we would gain control of the Malfoy seat and fortune though Lady Malfoy; until Draco comes of age anyways. It's an option. Not that I would want to share a house with the annoying idiot, but that would surely upset Lucius from his jail cell, the knowledge that his vote and money is being used for the betterment of _'lesser stock.'_"

**End of Chapter**


	31. Y2 Christmas to Remember Pt1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safety, contains mature themes.**

"Out loud"

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 31: A Christmas to Remember Pt1**

**Posted 12th April 2013**

**Revised and ****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

Walking down the high street as the snow softly fell from the sky, he looked in through the shop windows, examining the displays and the various wares on offer. For the first time in his life he truly felt like a regular kid, with the ability to simply enjoy himself and lower his guard without fear, to not have to worry about the legendary Chamber of Secrets, nor having to worry about Pettigrew, the would be assassin. He could just _enjoy_ himself.

"Anything you fancy, pup?" Sirius asked, looking over his shoulder at the foreign displays.

Eyeing the fur coat made from the pelt of a black bear, he answered, "Yea, I like that coat," pointing it out to his godfather. "However, I can't really see myself using it that much, seems a waste," he said, while dismissing it.

"Doesn't matter," Sirius replied easily, "As long as you like it, that's all what matters. Besides, it's not like it's going to bankrupt us," before forcefully pulling him into the store. The hour flew by as they selected several outfits much to the shop assistant's personal delight, who quickly realized that they had a lot of gold to spend and then promptly went into 'kiss-ass mode.' During this shopping spree he picked up some nice lighter robes in the native style, which interestingly had fur on the shoulders, making them look rather exotic. However, he also saw the chance to pick up something nice for Daphne, and picked up a white wolf fur scarf, with matching gloves and coat. The problem was that he didn't know her size really, but he thought he had a good estimate. Naturally, this led him to get something for her sister as well whilst he was there, which frankly was far more difficult to achieve, since he didn't know much about her and had only seen her once before.

Sirius picked out a suitable gift for Lord and Lady Greengrass in preparation for their upcoming dinner. By the time they were done picking clothes for themselves, which were almost whole wardrobes worth each, as well their own friends, a great deal of time and money had been spent on the outing..

They ended up being in the store for well over three hours and got a 15% discount after spending just under 1 thousand gold Scals. Personally he thought it would be far more, but Sirius quickly explained before he could work it out for himself. "Gold is worth far more over here, and there are only about four to five thousand wizards living in Iceland. And I believe they have no native gold mines."

"Oh, so the exchange rate is in our favour then," quickly catching on.

"Yup!" Sirius assured. "That's probably the biggest sale that sale's assistant ever had," he said, whilst grinning like a mad man. "He'll probably get one hell of a Christmas bonus because of it," as Sirius searched the high street. "Where to next?" whilst looking around the snow covered alley, smiling at the sight of children playing.

"How about we head to the inn?" pointing it out, "I could do with a bite to eat."

"Sure thing, I could use a drink. I've always wanted to see if Icelandic beer lives up to its reputation. I might even look the other way so you can try one," Sirius said with a massive grin.

Smiling at the offer he wondered just what the beer would taste like. In the end he found out that the hotel beer was rather decent, but a bit strong for his budding tastes. "You're meant to be the responsible one, what are you trying to do, corrupt me? You evil man!" He exclaimed, enjoying the chance to joke and blow off some steam, since he always had to act so stiff and formal around Hogwarts. "I'm a respectable heir; such poison is beneath me!" turning his nose up in a way that wouldn't be out of place on Malfoy's face.

"Yea! I am," Sirius shot back as they walked into the inn and took a corner seat. The inn itself was bit like an old Viking longhouse with torches hanging from the wall, bathing the room in heat and light, with an open fire pit running down the centre of the room. Despite the clear Nordic inspired design, the inn felt warm and friendly as he noted the bar at back of the room, with two doors at either side.

"Nice place," he noted, whilst admiring the inn, making mental notes on the design and layout for future reference, in case he ever needed to renovate '_Pleasurable Nights_' again, which after his improvements was finally starting to turn a decent profit. "Where do you want to sit?"

"Over here," his godfather gestured which a flick of his hand, throwing his winter coat over the back of the padded chair as Harry dutifully followed him. Several minutes passed before the barman finally came over and took their orders, before Sirius spoke up again, rather solemnly in fact. "Being serious for a minute Harry, I've named you as my Heir if anything should happen to me. That Healer, Ayra, that you introduced me to a couple weeks ago...she told me officially something that I had already suspected; I can't have kids," he said soberly while revealing this news.

Sirius paused for a time, just staring at the bar top before looking him in the eye again and continuing, "We both expected it since my release; ten years is a long time to be locked up in maximum security surrounded by Dementors sucking the life and magic out of you. I want you to be my Heir, not just my acting heir, but my true heir." Sirius implored, looking him straight in the eye as he said it. "I have faith that you'll do me and the family proud," Sirius stated, before adding a request while sporting a devious smile. "But, I would like at least a little bit of my influence to rub off on you. Even if it means I'd have to look forwards to your mother's wrath in the next life."

Even though he had known it was possible that he could end up being the Black heir; he hadn't planned for it, or expected it really. He had frankly thought that Tonks would take up the line now that she was back in the family. "I don't know what to say Sirius," caught totally off guard by the timing of the statement, as the waiter delivered their drinks. "Thanks," he said absently to the waiter, as his mind was already busy running through various scenarios on how best to use his new position. Furthermore, it meant the Lestrange votes and fortune would be his one day too. 'Damn,' he thought, as he started realizing the sheer amount of political capital he could have at his disposal.

Clearly it was the right thing to say, "Just drink the beer then," Sirius said, smiling whilst pushing the offered beer across the table, "I won't tell anyone if you don't," Sirius offered with a reserved smile.

Deciding he needed to be honest with his godfather if he was going to be his full heir, and successor, he discreetly pulled out his wand and cast a simple, but powerful privacy charm around them. "Sirius, you should be aware that I'm already a dual heir, even before adding this," rubbing his Black family ring as he reached into his top to pull out the chain holding the Peverell Lordship ring, and discreetly showing it to his Godfather. "I am already Lord Peverell, and have been since I turned eleven."

"How?" his godfather demanded, as he examined the ring across the table, whilst attracting some strange looks from the locals in the inn.

Slipping into story mode he began, "My mother and father put several safeguards in place for my protection in the event of their deaths during the war, one of them was the Peverell Lordship activation. I'm already Lord Peverell and have been since my 11th birthday. It's the reason why the goblins allow me to do so much, to them I'm an adult by wizarding law and by magic, and it is why they allowed me to live by myself last year," he explained to his stunned godfather.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Sirius demanded, clearly caught off guard by this sudden news.

"It was a fail-safe; if you turned out to be an ass, or an unsuitable guardian," he explained, "I could have simply ignored you. Plus I don't need to brag about something, or go flashing my Lordship ring around in everyone's face to feel important. Moreover once Remus moved in, I didn't trust you enough not to reveal it to him. The only reason I'm telling you now is because it's the right thing to do if I'm going to be your heir. It's only an effective safe-guard if no one knows about it, sorry," he offered in explanation. "I hope you will keep this between us, because my age offers me a lot of protection currently. If knowledge of my Lordship came out, I would lose that and become very vulnerable."

"I understand," Sirius said after a while. "I was an unknown figure, just someone you knew by name and reputation, nothing more. Considering your past treatment at the hands of your relatives it's understandable that you would want a way out. I won't tell anyone until you're ready. This is family business; I won't even tell Remus."

"Thank you," he answered, as he drank some more of the unusual mead, which was rich, yet smooth, with a hint of nutmeg, and almost fruity.

Sirius wrestled with his drink for a bit before saying, "You're aware that the Peverell name has a rather colourful history? And that not everyone will be best pleased with you for taking it up again? Then there are the stories about the Deathly Hallows. People will come after you due to that alone, from all around the world, attempting to find the Hallows."

He frowned slightly at the news of these "Deathly Hallows," since it was the first time he had even _heard_ of them. "I know a bit about the family's past, but I've mainly been focusing on the here and now. Ancient history can wait in this case; it's not going to change now is it? Besides, I've already taken up the position, what's done is done as they say," deciding he would have to investigate the story to find out what it was all about.

"Wise words. Just be careful alright?" Sirius asked, almost pleading for him to be safe.

"You're the first one I've told about this," he admitted. "Do you still want me to be your heir?"

"Yes," Sirius said firmly, before asking carefully. "Have you considered the fact that you could end up having multiple wives? Some families will expect it of you, and others families could very well want to marry their daughters off to you just for the chance to steal a line. Or even just for the prestige of the name and your multiple Lordships." He finished, as the barmen returned with their order of beef stew.

"Yea, I know," he admitted slowly as he considered his feelings on the subject, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of marriage this early in his life, or the thought of having multiple wives. He understood, logically, that with his goal of rebuilding his ancestral house, ensuring he had several possible heirs would be a necessity, and having multiple wives would help achieve that goal most effectively. Such a pragmatic approach to progeny was extremely common in the natural world.

But he had been brought up by his abusive muggle relatives in the muggle culture, and as much as he hated to admit it, some of their prejudices had rubbed off on to him. The idea of a polygamous marriage being taboo was one of them after being dragged to frequent Sunday church services, even if the faith had condemned his own kind. _Like many times since finding out that he was wizard, he would once again be forced to reconsider his position and beliefs based on new facts and circumstances. After all, he had been a devout atheist before finding out that he was a wizard. But now that ghosts and spirits were proved to not only be real, but a daily part of his life now, it reopened that idea for mental debate_

Then there was the fact that he had only just started to notice girls in the last couple of months, even if he knew about the biology behind it all, and understood sexual references months earlier thanks to Tonks' insightful and mentally scarring lesson. "But, it's my life. I'll marry who I desire to. And frankly, I think I would prefer a single partner, from what I've seen most men have problems with just one wife. I don't know how I would ever handle two or three or four!" his godfather laughed at his discomfort, almost taking pleasure in it.

"Yea, one plotting against you is bad enough. I learned that the hard way myself, what two could do working together is downright scary to think about." Laughing more as he gave his Godfather a curious look, almost sensing Sirius was speaking from personal experience. "Here's a bit of advice, two girlfriends at the same time may sound like a grand idea, but trust me, it's not worth the trouble you get in," the dog animagus stated firmly, but grinning like the dog he was.

Nodding at the advice, "Thanks, no two girlfriends," he noted, whilst shaking his head at his Godfather's antics.

"Your father also found that out the hard way," Harry choked on his stew at learning this about his father. Sirius starting grinning evilly at that, "However, as _Sirius Black_," he said self-importantly, "your corrupting, misbehaving godfather, I have a duty to inform you that a tag-team blowjob is freakin' amazing!" Sirius grinned widely after saying this, almost as if in fond remembrance, causing him to roll his eyes at his dogfather's behaviour. He was just a bit too young to recognize the truth of that profound statement. "And now I desire proof that you are worthy to be my successor to the Noble and Charming House of Black. To prove your metal my good man, you must complete 'Sirius' 10 Labours of Charm, Corruption, and Chaos,' if you wish to truly become my heir!'"

Watching his godfather wearily, he wondered what his godfather was playing at. "What are you up to, you old dog? You already said that I'm your heir," whilst vaguely remembering Hercules' Ten Labours, resulting in his gut turning in anxiety, before a potent thrill of excitement shot through him at the challenge.

Smiling cleverly, he answered his godson's question, "Something which is my right, when testing the suitably of my chosen heir. It will also help to stop anyone from possibly contesting it, if I test you with tasks to prove your worth. Even if you don't need to, it just makes it more recognised, as it used to be a very common tradition amongst purebloods when families were larger and selecting the best person to lead the family. It faded out of practise about 100 years ago when families started having fewer children and selecting amongst several prospective heirs became impossible," his godfather lectured, clearly enjoying himself.

Deciding to play along and hope it was nothing too stupid or _illegal_, "Ok, I accept, however I want a list now, with terms and conditions of what can and can't be done. I won't have you changing the rules halfway through this game of yours, just because I'm winning too easy," he stated with confidence, before adding quickly, "And none of the things can be illegal," almost missing that part.

"Spoilsport," Sirius responded, faking a pout, "I was going to have you kidnap the Minister, however I'll tell you the next challenge after you complete the previous one. I want to keep it challenging, don't want to make it too easy for you."

Deciding to get started immediately, he asked, "What do I have to do to prove myself to you? Chase my tail?" putting Sirius immediately on the spot, to come up with something straight away before his godfather could put his devious mind to scheming and plotting.

Smiling back him, as it was clearly what Sirius wanted, "I'll give you your task on New Year's Eve, along with the terms and conditions; you have until the end of your 7th year to complete it. Fair?"

He carefully considered the offer, five and half years for the completion of ten tasks, easily two per year, "Yea, I would like one which I can bail out of, so a free life of sorts," he answered back, wondering if this was the mead talking, as Sirius grinned.

"Sure, after all, you're no cat," his godfather replied, before asking "You only get 9 lives, if you're a cat animagus, are you one?"

"Nope, I don't think so," shaking his head, that was one creature he had ruled out from the start. He just couldn't see himself as a male Professor McGonagall. "Na, I'm pretty sure I'm a bird of some sort. Maybe a raven or a crow, or maybe an eagle of some type, I just get that rush when flying, or something that likes to have freedom to move about?"

"I think raven personally, they're cunning tricksters," Sirius offered, whilst nursing his beer.

"Yea, but when do I trick? Or prank? I don't do that all that much," he replied, "I trick and prank for personal gain, not necessarily for fun, like you, and Remus and Dad did," giving his counterpoint to Sirius's suggestion. "This stew is good, much better than the stuff at Hogwarts."

"Yea," Sirius agreed.

The rest of the meal was filled with chit chat, as they just enjoyed a good carefree conversation, before carrying on with their shopping. "Sirius, do you mind if we pop in here for a bit?" as he examined a nearby bookstore, hoping he could find something of interest, even with the language barrier.

"Sure, why not? I was wondering how long it would be before we entered a bookstore," Sirius teased, "After all, you're a right little bookworm."

Entering the old bookstore, the air was once again heavy and thick with the smell of freshly burnt wood. He looked around for a bit before heading off to a corner to start his search for anything of interest. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sirius attempting to talk to the shop owner, but clearly failing based on the confused expression on the owner's face. Opening one of the tomes he saw that it had an image of a completed potion, making it clear that he was in the potions section of the store. Eventually by process of elimination, he worked out how the bookstore was laid out. He made a mental note that the next time he travelled that he should learn the native tongue beforehand, learn a good translation charm or find some other means of effective communication.

Shaking his head once again at his godfather forgetting to learn something as simple as a translation charm prior to travelling, he went back to check the shelves for anything of interest. Eventually, after a good bit of searching the shelves, he finally settled on getting a couple books on Nordic runes, as well some DADA books and a couple on rituals.

Many of these selections were simply because the pictures demonstrating the spells looked far more interesting than the standard Hogwarts' material. One charmed picture showed a Nordic wizard casting a spell at the fallen snow, and a massive ice spike erupting up from it impaling a charging frost giant. Or its secondary spell, which caused thousands of little sharp spikes to be created across a wide arc. Frankly, the book's images displayed the gruesome results of the spells, making it clear that Nordic wizards had no issue with drawing blood. Another important note to self, 'don't start a fight with a Nordic wizard.' Eventually they went back to exploring the alley, however as darkness began to fall, they retreated back to their hotel for the evening.

**Next day**

He looked out over the valley of the ice falls, where 13 frozen waterfalls stayed frozen all year around, allowing the light to reflect off them making a rainbow of colours. It was a truly breath taking sight he thought, as he walked around the valley. His Godfather, however, was busy chatting up the local tour guide, which was amusing as hell, but embarrassing at the same time. He took a couple more pictures with his charmed camera that he had bought earlier that day, even though his mind arts were developing to the point that he had near prefect recall of the place. It was still good to have something to reference and refresh the memory in the future.

Plus this way he could show his friends what he had been up to.

"It's beautiful, isn't it," Sirius stated, taking him by surprise.

"Yea, it is," he agreed looking at the magical wonders before him, feeling a measure of peace. "It's so peaceful, but at the same time it reminds you of the power of winter," feeling an increasing amount of respect for individuals who made their homes in such harsh environments, as well as for cultures that lived without the modern comforts of life, whether they be magical, or mundane.

"Want to see its opposite? Want to see Hekla?" Sirius asked, as he continued to look at the frozen waterfalls.

Thinking over the suggestion, he already knew his answer, since it had been one of the things he wanted to do before he died. "Sure," he said, wondering what it would be like to see an active volcano, what he would feel at the sight of it. He walked over to the cabin, which served as the visitor's entrance, as well as cafe, before heading over to the magical fireplace. Paying the small fee to use it, he threw some floo powder in before stepping in and saying "Hekla," and was promptly whisked away.

Instantly he was hit by the extreme heat and the stuffy heavy air as he fell into the room, waiting for Sirius to step through the fireplace. His godfather immediately voiced what he was thinking, "Merlin, it's hot in here, don't they know any cooling charms? Or temperature control wards?"

"This is Iceland; they probably need heating and warming charms more than cooling. Plus, I doubt any amount of cooling charms could fully compensate for an active volcano's heat," voicing his own opinion. They paid the visitor fee, what was ten bits of silver between their respective fortunes, prior to making their way to the summit of the volcano. Walking up the stone path, they crossed what clearly was a ward as the air around them seemed to boil with heat, the air tasted of ash and sulphur, setting his nose and lungs virtually on fire.

"Wait a second Harry," Sirius urged as his wand appeared in hand. "Let me cast a bubble head charm on us, it will help filter the air," sending a spell at him which created an air bubble around his head, making it easier to breath as heat continued to batter his body. Continuing the climb to the summit, in less than ten feet the temperature seemed to double, causing him to remove his remaining outer layers, no longer needing them, as the heat radiated from the ground, like over charged underground heating. Despite the increasing heat, he pushed on with the climb to the summit. Finally reaching the summit, his breath was instantly taken away at the sight that lay before him, the lava boiling and churning, dancing under its own song. "Wow."

"What did you say? I can't hear you Harry," Sirius shouted, over the crackling of the volcano, as a fountain of molten rock erupted.

"I said, wow!" he shouted back at his godfather, before turning his full attention back to the show of molten gold rock dancing below them, as he knelt down to rub his hand over the volcanic rock, before picking up a hot black stone as a keepsake; it would serve as a physical reminder of standing here. Taking a step closer to the edge as the heat bathed his skin, he made every effort to remember this moment, to lock in his mind all the different senses, the rainbow of reds and oranges and golds on the hard backdrop of scarred volcanic rock. Pulling out his charmed camera, he started to take a series of photos to immortalize the moment. However, just then the ground shook violently beneath them, as part of the opposite edge gave way and collapsed into the mouth of the volcano, causing a plume of lava and ash to erupt up creating an awesome snapshot. The ground shock again, but much more violently this time, as the molten rock coated the walls.

"Harry!" Sirius shouted out in alarm, as he looked over to see his godfather had fallen over as a result of the mini-earthquake, his face layered with concern for his wellbeing. "You might want to step away from the edge Harry," Sirius advised, moments before another mini eruption occurred; Harry just rode the tremors out.

Looking down into the pit of molten rock before turning back to Godfather, he decided to take a couple steps back, "Sure," he shouted back, before continuing to watch the mini eruptions below, feeling a rush at the primal power laying beneath his feet, waiting to erupt and consume.

"_Fuck_, you're mother is going to kill me," Sirius said loudly as he made his way over to him, testing the ground as he went. "Merlin, how are you not a Gryffindor, first jumping out a multi-story window, now this?" Sirius demanded, as he looked down into the magma below them uneasily.

Wondering how many more times he would have to hear that in his life he responded snarkily, "Ask the Hat," he shot back, grinning again as the ground shook like an angry beast trying to shake off a pest, as his godfather stepped back. Turning around to face Sirius, a bigger eruption happened, before he threw Sirius the camera, "Take a picture will you?" he requested, enjoying the rush that he felt standing there, whilst mentally ticking off 'stand at the summit of an active volcano' from his lifetime to-do list.

**That Evening**

"I can't believe you did that," Sirius stated from the armchair, clearly happy to be away from the volcano as he nursed his whiskey carefully.

"Lighten up. Didn't you feel that rush?" he asked, wondering when his 'do anything once' godfather, the one who wanted him to act more like a lion and take risks, had suddenly lost his courage and turned into a frightened house cat.

"Harry," Sirius started slowly, "Yea, it was a rush, I admit that, but that was insane, standing less than two feet from the edge," Sirius finished, before quickly downing some more of his whiskey.

"Sirius, it was more like a meter," he answered back. "I always wanted to stand there, on the edge like that, and I wanted to be able to say '_I did that_.' There is so much I want to do and see in this life. I want to learn how to swim, and I want to look down on the world from the tallest mountains. I want to see the pyramids, the Valley of Kings; I want to see Rome and Athens. Those were the things that kept me going at the Dursleys, my hope of finally getting out of that cursed street and life, and seeing the wider world that I had only read about in books," looking straight at his Godfather. "Whenever they went on holiday, I was left with the neighbours; when they went to Spain, I was stuck painting the front room of a neighbour's house. When my relatives went to the zoo, I was left at the neighbours, stuck labouring under the sun. So excuse me, I'm going to enjoy being able to do something that I've always wanted to do, especially after Pettigrew just tried to kill me, again, and nearly succeeded this time!" He knew he was playing the guilt card, but it was true, he was done being the meek, subservient boy who suffered at the hands of others and was denied any happiness of his own.

"I understand. I created a similar list while I was locked up," Sirius admitted. "So where would you like to go this summer?" whilst taking another gulp of his whiskey.

"Can't say," he admitted, sitting down on the sofa and pouring himself some of the whiskey into a glass and throwing some ice cubes in it. He ignored Sirius' smirk at his antics, "My list was created before I discovered that I was a wizard; I have to take new things into account now, things that are only possible in the magical world. I'd still like to see Paris though, both non-magical and magical, as you know," his godfather nodding along at that. "But that can wait; it's only across the channel after all," pushing the visit further down the list in favour of other things. "And it can be done in a couple days easily anyways."

"Ok, pick a continent?" Sirius said, whilst refilling his glass with the golden liquid.

"Asia?" he stated, wondering what Sirius was planning.

"That's a big place," Sirius answered back, whilst playing with the glass, "East or West?"

Seeing where this was going, "Well, I'd like to go east, India would be nice as I would like to know more about Padma's cultural past," he answered. "But, I would like to go with her, so she can explain things as needed and act as a translator." She could also introduce him to her extended family and possibly lay the foundation for future trading deals between their families. "So, maybe China? Japan? Or Korea?" He wondered what there was to discover there, what secrets he could learn, what knowledge he could gain over his rivals by being exposed to these distant and divergent cultures.

"Sounds good. Do you want it to be a surprise? Or would you like me to tell you what I'm thinking?" Sirius asked.

Considering the question, "Keep it a surprise until a couple of days before," he requested as Sirius gave him a curious look, "That way it's still a surprise, but gives me a chance to look up possible things to do and see, and have some cultural reference so I don't do something that upsets the locals," he offered with a mischievous smile, and 'find translation charms' he mentally thought.

"And do you mind if Remus comes? If we go between the moon cycles that is," clearly wanting to bring his friend, but knowing that Harry had his issues with the man.

Thinking carefully over the request, since Sirius clearly wanted his friend to come with them, he finally decided to give the man a chance for Sirius' benefit. "As long as he isn't a spoilsport and not going to be an ass, then it's fine I suppose." After all, Remus was the 'sensible one' out of the pair. This resulted in Sirius beaming, clearly happy with the answer. Plus, if Remus was an ass then he would just ignore him and do his own thing, that particular experiment being done for good. And Sirius would have more evidence, and be discouraged from inviting his friend in the future.

**Midnight Gold**

The following day they found themselves back in the alley, looking over the same stores, before finding their way to the same inn that they had dined at their first full day here. Their port-key was booked for the following morning. Finding themselves in the centre of the room, it quickly became clear that everyone was rather tense.

"Sirius," he said quietly, discreetly looking around the room, "You get the feeling something's not right here?"

"Yea pup," his godfather agreed, his experienced eyes closely watching the room, darting into all the corners. "Everyone's tense for some reason. Let's finish this meal and head back to the hotel." Leaving the inn, and heading back to the hotel, Sirius leaned in and whispered softly as if he feared what was going to happen, "This reminds me of when the Death Eaters were around, everyone was on edge, just eager to get their business done as soon as possible." Harry watched as another parent quickly pulled their children along with them.

Walking past the shops they had shopped in days earlier, they wondered what had changed between then and now, what had happened to create the palpable tension hanging in the air. Entering the hotel, Sirius made his way over to the front desk and rang the desk bell. Thankfully the receptionist was quick to respond and also one of the few staff members that spoke reasonably good English. "Good afternoon sir, how can I help you?" she greeted with false cheer.

"Good afternoon Grace, could you tell me what's happened to make everyone so tense all of a sudden," Sirius probed gently, while he listened carefully.

The receptionist took a moment to compose her answer before explaining softly, "Magical Iceland is ruled by 12 clan families, with the blessing of Greenland's own ruling family. However in recent months conflict has started to brew. Several families want independence and have a good amount of support from the public. There are also a lot of civil problems in the country, jobs, rights, you name it. Instead of trying to fix the problems facing the country, the current government, if you can even call it that, is more concerned with maintaining their own power," Grace stressed quietly, as if she feared being overheard.

"All right, thank you for sharing that Grace," Sirius stated, seemingly deep in thought at this answer, as they headed to their rooms. As soon as they were behind closed doors, Sirius suddenly spoke, "This was how it first started Harry," sending him a sad look. "There is a civil war brewing here, mark my words. It's just a matter of time. It started the same way in Britain."

He pondered that statement, taking a moment to consider what he had seen that day and Sirius' own experiences, "You can't worry about it," he offered knowing that the words were useless as he walked over to the bar area to make himself a stiff drink. "We can't help them, we have no interests in Iceland, nor do we have any real influence in Britain either at the moment," giving Sirius a serious look who was looking rather glum at the harsh news. "I know you're not happy about it, but this is _not_ our fight, these are not Death Eaters nor is this Voldemort's work," knowing already that his godfather was considering how he could help in the back of his mind, like the Gryffindor he was. He realized that he needed to offer something his godfather could use as an excuse of a sort, lest Sirius do something foolish and harm their interests, "We can't help them now, but when it's all over we could always help them rebuild, and try to offer some stability through gainful employment," passing Sirius a bottle of scotch with a clean glass. "If they request any international help, then we can always try to pressure the Ministry to get involved, but right now there is really nothing we can do."

"I know," Sirius answered forlornly, taking the offered drink. "Still isn't something I'm comfortable with."

"I know, but we have to pick our battles carefully," hoping his godfather wouldn't do anything foolish as he started to look through the hotel's private services, to see if there was anything they could do that would help distract his godfather. "Want to head down to the spa?" he asked after looking through the leaflet, eager to find out what all the hype about a massage was.

**24****th**** December**

"It's good to be home," Sirius expressed as they walked through the front door of Number 12 just to be greeted by Remy and Cora, the two elves Sirius had bought from the Ministry to replace Kreacher who was now in exile at another Black property for the remainder of his days. He let the pair take his bags, knowing that by the time he got to his room they would be sorted and unpacked by the dutiful and efficient young house elves. Just then Remus entered. "Welcome back you old Dog!" Remus exclaimed, before hugging his friend in a brotherly embrace, "Did the both of you have a good time?" his tired eyes darting between the pair.

"Yes, it was amazing actually. How are you feeling?" Sirius asked the exhausted looking Remus.

"Bit sore, but nothing I'm not long used to, the potion helps though," Remus replied, clearly referring to his condition. "You ok Harry?"

"Fine," he replied, not particularly seeing the need to open up to the man, but not being openly hostile as he had before.

Sirius sensing the tension between them, quickly changed the subject, "How's the house?" he asked, as the elves popped in eager to report just as Remus spoke. "Fine, only Kreacher trying to get hold of that locket again, it must really mean something to the old elf."

"Must have been my mother's," Sirius stated dismissively, shaking his head, "I'm seriously tempted just to let the elf have it if it stops him from bothering us all the time.

"What locket is this?" he enquired from his place whilst leaning against the wall, wondering what was going on since his godfather had failed to mention this.

"Just a stupid old fashioned locket with a Slytherin style S on it, you know the S in shape of a snake that is posted around Hogwarts, like the Slytherin house banner, this one has emeralds around it," shaking his head in disapproval. "The damn thing won't even open," the frustrated Sirius explained. However the description set off alarm bells in his mind, an image of Slytherin's locket popping up with the file information compiled on Tom Riddle.

"Sirius, let me see it," he stated firmly, giving his godfather a demanding look, while wondering if they could be the same thing.

"Why?" his godfather asked plainly, his eyes locking on to Harry's.

Choosing his words carefully, he answered, "The description you've just given me matches the description of the famous Locket of Salazar Slytherin. If it is the same it could be worth a small fortune if sold, probably more if sold to the right person" he offered in explanation. "It also went missing some fifty years ago, along with the famous Cup of Hufflepuff."

"How do you know this?" Sirius demanded, not knowing the full extent of his research.

"The Chamber of Secrets being opened led me to investigate its last opening." He started in explanation, "Hagrid may be an idiot at times, but he would never release a monster to intentionally harm someone. This led me to believe he was set up to take the fall for the crime. After that I looked more into it and found a Tom Marvolo Riddle was involved and was a Slytherin and the Head-Boy of the time. I talked with Hagrid further; he firmly believes that Riddle set him up to take the fall. Naturally, this led me to investigate Riddle, Riddle ended up working at _Borgin and Burkes_ buying magical artefacts after his graduation," he lectured, before Sirius rudely interrupted him.

"Is this going somewhere Harry?" his impatient godfather asked.

"Yes," he shot back, more than a bit annoyed at being interrupted mid speech, especially when he was unused to giving out valuable information like this so freely. "Riddle was expected to work at the Ministry; he had top grades and was seen as the Dumbledore of his generation. However two years after starting at Borgin and Burkes, he met with one Hepzibah Smith for the purpose of buying some of her rare heirlooms for the business. Tom didn't report to work the next day, and Mrs. Smith was found dead days later by her visiting family. When investigated the Aurors put it down to accidental poisoning by an aged house elf." The two listening house elves shook their heads in disappointment whilst muttering things about the elf. "When her extended family examined the property, they found that two of her most valuable heirlooms were missing. One was the famous Slytherin Locket, and the other, Hufflepuff's cup, the aurors put two and two together. Riddle is still wanted for questioning in relation to the incident," he ended in explanation.

"So you think it's the same locket?" Remus enquired.

Resisting the urge to say '_no shit_,' why else would he explain everything to the pair if he didn't believe that was the case? "Yea, but how did it end up here of all places? And why is Kreacher obsessed with getting a hold of it?" whilst wondering if it was the same locket or just a clever fake.

"Let's check it out, I don't want to get taken in for possessing stolen goods," Sirius stated, letting his former Auror past shine through as he lead them to his office and study. Climbing the stairs to the second floor study, Sirius headed over to a portrait of his grandfather hanging on the wall, and waved his ring hand over it, causing the portrait to fold away, revealing a glowing metal safe.

'Note to self, hide my own safe in better, less cliché hiding spot.' "Harry you should pay attention, I'll be adding you to the safe later," Sirius requested as he watched his godfather with new interest cut his hand, before wiping the freshly drawn blood over the safe's surface while muttering, "The Black Grim Runs free," the safe immediately glowed gold before fading, resulting in the magical safe chinking before the metal door opened of its own accord, revealing a series of papers. Sirius then reached in and pulled out the locket in question.

Stepping closer to examine the locket, he heard quiet serpent-like whispering leaving the locket which sent a cold shiver up his spine. Sirius carefully laid it out on his desk allowing him to finally examine it. "Yea, it looks just like the one in the picture, give me a sec," he said, before disappearing out of the room to get the picture from his trunk, before rushing back. "Look," throwing the picture down on the desk for the pair to examine for themselves.

"I'll be damned, it's the same one," Remus stated, after examining the locket for himself. "However it feels so wrong, so unnatural," pulling away from the object. "I think we need to talk to Kreacher," looking at Sirius instead of Harry.

"Ok," Sirius said after a second, before pulling his wand out "Kreacher!" he called out, thereby summoning the aged elf who popped into the room, before leaping for the locket resting on the table. Clearly Remus was prepared for such a reaction, as he hit the elf with a binding spell, causing ropes of orange energy to form around the elf, and pulling him into one of the office chairs.

"Kreacher! Sit still," Sirius ordered firmly. "I need you to tell me about his locket," holding his wand against the locket, "And how it ended up in this house."

That seemed to set the bitter old elf off, "Master Regulus tasked me with destroying it, I failed him, I am such a terrible elf," it said, as Kreacher tried to bang his head on the back of the chair as Remus and Sirius just looked at each other in bewilderment.

'That's odd, why would Regulus want such a priceless object destroyed?' he mentally pondered before asking the next logical question and taking charge of the questioning. "Kreacher, how did you get this?" pointing to the necklace with his own wand. Over the next hour they listened in near silence to Kreacher's story of Regulus' betrayal of the Dark Lord, of first treating Kreacher's injuries, and then stealing away the locket from an underground cavern, before he was dragged beneath the water by hordes of undead charged with guarding the Dark Lord's precious treasure.

"Fuck," Sirius said collapsing into the chair, as his processed the knowledge that his younger brother had died betraying the dark lord.

Thinking over the story, several questions came to mind as Remus comforted Sirius, 'what was so important about this one necklace?' Sure, he would expect such protective measures if Lord Voldemort was guarding his own personal fortune, but this seemed like a lot of effort and energy just for one necklace regardless of its history. What made it so special that the former Dark Lord had placed so many magical defences around it? He mentally noted the similarities between the third floor the previous year, and Kreacher's description of the cave. "Whatever was so important about this locket still isn't clear, but Regulus was willing to die to ensure it was destroyed; we should see it through," Harry said bluntly, eyeing the locket warily still hearing the unnerving whispering.

"Do you hear that?" he asked the pair, stepping way from the locket as the whispering lessened with increased distance from it.

"Hear what?" Remus enquired, looking up from Sirius who looked equally confused.

"Nothing," he answered, his eyes never leaving the locket. "We should contact the goblins, see if they can work out what makes this so important," waving his hand at the locket.

"We should tell Dumbledore, he knows the most about You-Know-Who" Remus stated, causing Harry to roll his eyes and making damn sure Remus saw him do it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sirius going rather red-faced at the mentioning of the headmaster. "No!" Sirius shouted, taking Remus by surprise at the sudden outburst.

"This is Black family business! Not fucking _Dumbledore_ business! I spent ten fucking years rotting in a cell surrounded by dementors, thanks to him! He just tossed me in that hell hole as if I was a broken toy!" Sirius raged. "If Dumbledore finds out about any of this we're done Remus! What we speak about in these walls," gesturing to the house. "is private business, because if you're living here, Harry and I have to be able to trust you," gesturing to him and Harry, as he noticed the whispering growing stronger and louder. "The first test of that trust in you comes along and the first fucking thing out of your mouth is '_we should tell Dumbledore_,' for Merlin's sake. We're not kids anymore Remus! We're adults!"

"Kreacher, do you know where this cave is? Could you show it to us if need be?" he asked, wanting to understand more about the cave set up. Mainly because it reminded him of the third floor just a bit too much, as he recalled the mirror and the stone resting in his vault. 'I need to look into that,' adding investigating the stone to his already ridiculously long to-do list.

"Yes," Kreacher grumbled, forced to answer his question by Sirius' orders from when they first met.

He turned his attention back to his godfather and Remus who were busy having their own silent staring contest. "I'm going to make an appointment with Bloodmoon for the 28th, as I doubt you want one for tomorrow or Boxing Day."

**Christmas day**

Looking at his hair in the mirror, instead of his normal color he now sported a vibrant blue with gold stars, a result of Sirius pranking his bedroom door. On a scale of one to ten, this was a zero on the scale of possible annoyance, and to be honest, he kind of liked the colours. However his joy didn't last for long, as soon as he put on his dressing grown it morphed into a red and white Santa suit. Sighing, he looked himself over, 'So creative,' he mentally voiced, more than a bit disappointed. He headed down the stairs to the front room with a spring in his step, showing no sign of embarrassment, even if he looked like an idiot.

Seeing the lavish magical Christmas tree in the front room filled with softly glowing fairies, he allowed himself a rare smile, hoping this would be a proper Christmas. There was a 'pop' sound behind him, causing him to turn around to see Remy holding a glass of orange juice. "Thank you Remy," he said, the elf immediately popping away once he took the glass from him. Moving into the kitchen he saw that Remus was already up and about, eating some toast. "Good morning," he greeted, not going to let anyone ruin his good mood.

"Good morning, nice outfit," the werewolf greeted with a grin.

"Hardly an original idea for a prank, especially from a legendary Marauder," he stated whilst taking a seat. "I expected better from you two, you guys must be out of practise."

"That sounds like a challenge there pup," Sirius challenged from behind him, taking him by surprise.

'_Crap_,' he thought, realizing what he had just started, 'distract them before they can make plans,' his mind shouted. "Merry Christmas!" he yelled out, that being the only thing that came to mind.

"Merry Christmas to you too pup, sleep well?" the dog animagus asked.

"Not too bad," taking a bite of his toast hoping he had dodged a bullet, "any plans for today?"

"Andy and her family will pop over around about midday, I thought it would be nice to have the whole family here for Christmas."

"Sounds good, I got Tonks a nice spellbook, with some rare and lesser known jinxes and hexes in it," he told Sirius.

"Good idea, is she still set on being an auror then?" Remus inquired from his seat.

"I think so," Harry replied "however she has lost quite a bit of faith in them, after seeing how ineffective they've been around Hogwarts. I think she may be looking into other possible career paths, maybe a shield sister," he offered, "I can't see her doing a normal office job regardless," considering the fact that his cousin may be escorting curse breakers in the near future, while raiding ancient tombs.

"Sounds interesting," Remus answered. "She knows that's dangerous work right? Dangerous wild creatures, ancient ruins to investigate full of deadly traps, then there's the continuous danger from raiders and slavers hitting your campsite." clearly concerned about the girl for whatever reason.

"Tonks is a big girl Remus," Harry answered; "If she wants a life full of adventure, who are we to stop her?" he asked them, sticking up for his cousin's decision which he could easily relate to. "All we can do is provide her with the best equipment and support we can. If she wants to go, she will, and we won't be able to stop her," supporting his cousin's choice. "And as Sirius once said, women are stubborn, no sense standing in the way when it's inevitable they'll do what they want anyways," getting a chuckle from the pair.

"So you do listen to what I say then!" Sirius exclaimed proudly.

**Boxing Day**

Walking down the familiar street to Number 4 Privet Drive with his Godfather in tow, it was time for some old fashioned revenge against his relatives. Oh what a wonderful Christmas this was turning out to be! With Sirius' help he could bewitch the whole house, and start making their lives miserable for a while, before using his final solution.

Finally arriving at the cursed household, he noticed the BMW was gone, the garden was different, and it had changed a lot over the last year and half. This was awfully strange as his aunt had never changed the garden the whole time Harry was there.

"Something wrong Harry?" Sirius asked sensing his unease.

"Yes," he said firmly. "When I was staying here the garden stayed the same the whole time, the same flowers, the same bushes, the same old post box. Everything is different now," he summarized whilst looking over the house.

"They probably just fancied a change after such a long time," his godfather assured.

"Maybe," he said uncertainly, having a bad feeling that his relatives were gone since there were Christmas lights on the house. His horse-faced aunt would never allow that unless the whole neighborhood had them. She was obsessed with appearing normal to the world, but that also meant you would never be astounding either.

"Wait here, I'll check it out," Sirius offered, walking up the driveway towards the house, while pulling down his hood. Watching Sirius walk up the drive, he found it amusing that Sirius was easily comfortable in non-magical clothing, in his jeans and trainers, with hoodie.

Watching eagerly as his godfather knocked on the front door, he waited patiently for one of the Dursleys to answer. Eventually the door opened to reveal a well dressed blonde haired woman in her early twenties, "Yes, how can I help you?" she asked with puzzled expression.

'That's not Aunt Petunia' he noted dryly as Sirius engaged the blonde in small talk. "Eh, sorry, I was led to believe the Dursley family was living here, I wanted to surprise them for Christmas," Sirius offered in explanation with a canine smile, whilst discreetly checking out the blonde.

This explanation clearly annoyed the lady, "They moved away last September, I don't know where; they didn't even bother to leave a forwarding address for any of their mail," she explained with venom.

"Oh," Sirius replied naturally, "that's a shame. Petunia was an old friend of mine in my youth, you don't happen to have any idea where they've gone, do you?"

"Sorry, can't help you," the blonde offered with a fake smile.

"You wouldn't happen to know why they moved," his godfather enquired.

"There were rumors that they had murdered their poor nephew, from what I heard they were a rather strange family," she offered with a sad smile.

"Oh, well thank you for your help," moving away from the door, before saying "Happy Christmas," as the door shut in his face and Sirius walked over to him. "Seems you're right pup, that's definitely not Petunia, they're gone…"

"That's annoying," he admitted, annoyed at losing the chance to spoil their Christmas.

"Want to head back? Or do you want to ask around?" Sirius enquired.

"Might as well ask around for a bit, maybe the Piers family will know something." He gestured to a house further down the street. "They were bastards too; we can always pull a couple pranks on them, so this whole trip won't be wasted."

"Sounds good," Sirius replied, following Harry's lead. "Harry, what did you think of that blonde? Nice rack right?"

"_Sirius_… yes, she was very appealing," he reluctantly admitted, finding the lady rather attractive after all, "But I had other things on my mind rather than perving," giving his godfather his best disapproving look. "Have you thought of a suitable first task yet?" whilst considering whether to bother tracking down his relatives…

"Yes, but you have to wait for New Year's Eve," Sirius stated, "That's the deal remember."

**28****th**** Dec**

Walking around the empty ruins of the ancient Potter Docklands, he felt a profound and growing sadness; it had once been the crown jewel, the cornerstone of the Potter family's prestige and power. Now... it was nothing but decrepit _ruins_, an empty shell of what it once was, and a visible reminder of his family's fall from power and position through the ravages of war, murder, and many levels of betrayal by supposed friends and allies. That would change now he vehemently vowed in the depths of his heart, his magic stirring around him violently in response to his powerful emotions. Before he would have delayed taking on such a massive reconstruction effort until his position was stronger and more assured, but the recent attempts on his life had pushed him into action. If he was going to die young, he wanted his history as the last of the Potters to be glorious and defining, full of drive, vision and energy, not of some orphan kid hiding in the shadows; this was one of the reasons he was returning to Hogwarts rather than hiding away. If he was going to soon face his parents in the next life, he wanted them to be _proud_ of him, he wanted even the ancestors he never met to be _proud_ of him... he stopped this line of thought as he fought back the emotions threatening to overcome even his impressive mind magic.

Burying his raging emotions down deep, he decided to use them as fuel to overcome the many challenges ahead. He forced his focus back on to the current task of inspecting the site. Snow masked most of the area, covering the broken stones, but helping him to numb the feelings of loss he felt as he walked around the ruins. He could still see the outlines of broken walls, half-burnt timbers rising out of the mounds, icicles hanging from them, broken hulls of merchant ships resting next to the rotting piers, moss hanging from their rusting hulls. Despite the fact that he never knew this place existed until recently, never saw it in its full glory, he still felt the loss as if he had. He could easily imagine what this place would have been like before the war, as hundreds of wizards and witches went about their business, cargo being loaded and unloaded, money changing hands, and opportunities seized.

It didn't matter what it looked like now, or even what it looked like before, because he would rebuild it, _bigger, better, and stronger_ than the previous docks! He would ward it until it was like a fortress if he had his way; he would make it to last far into the future, the foundation of the Potter family's prosperity. Taking a couple deep, calming breaths, he watched his warm breath mist and drift in the cold morning sea air, even as his mind started coming up with different designs and layouts. He would have to visit the Potter vault in the hope of finding any pre-existing plans, rather than getting another architect to redesign it from scratch. Looking over to where the old gatehouse used to be, he was tempted to build a private residence there, a grand new city house, and have an office in it looking out onto the docks as well the high street itself, by moving the dock entrance further down the street.

'Decisions, decisions,' he mused beneath his breath as he turned his attention back to the sea. He could easily see the faint outline of four piers in the distance, periodically appearing above the broken waves. Hopefully they wouldn't take too much work to restore, he noted. Maybe I should add another pier or two while I'm at it? He decided to wait on decisions like that until he had an idea of the actual demand for the docks. Leaving the docks and putting his invisibility cloak back on, he headed down the abandoned high street that he now owned, examining the vacant shops as he went. It was like a ghost town in the movies, with only the occasional passerby visible.

As he walked down the street, he noted that some of these buildings he owned were currently being used for seedy purposes, or more likely by rock-bottom wizards as makeshift homes. That would have to change too. At least with all the buildings empty he would have no local resistance to his plans and he could easily clear the old buildings to make way for new ones. 'Note to self, look up magical building methods,' he dutifully noted. Smiling to himself at the challenge this would all be, he remembered a quote, 'when a forest is burnt to the ground, its ash makes it fertile, allowing new life to grow even stronger than before.' He mentally acknowledged that natural truth and hoped that it applied to this situation too, as he walked along the near empty high street, before looking down another shadier street, which he also owned, several shadows moving.

Moving along, he considered how long he had spent here; he would have to go soon, he had a meeting at Gringotts with his godfather, who would be more than a bit annoyed that Harry had ditched him. Raising his wand and summoning a day bus to his location, he considered his short and long-term plans; hopefully he could buy the rest of the surrounding land in the next couple of weeks before knowledge of his plans for the Potter Docks inevitably slipped out and drove the prices far higher.

**Gringotts Bank**

Gringotts Bank was surprisingly quiet at the moment, not in terms of noise, but in terms of business, only two counters were even open today. They quickly made their way through the reception area, before being allowed past the guards to their meeting with their respective account managers. Fortunately enough, both account managers were waiting for them in Dawnberg's office, since he was the higher ranking of the two goblins involved in the upcoming meeting.

"Thank you for seeing us Account Manager Dawnberg, and Account Manager Bloodmoon," Sirius stated formally, staying respectful as he sat silently waiting for the goblin to formally acknowledge him.

"Indeed Lord Black," Dawnberg began, "What is it you wish to discuss?" he asked, and thereby took charge of the meeting.

"First, I want to make you both aware that Harry is my chosen Heir and successor," gesturing across to him. "I recently got medical confirmation of what I had already suspected; my time in that prison has left me sterile," Sirius said soberly as he handed over some documents. "This is the necessary paperwork to finalize Harry as my chosen successor. I trust that you will send the necessary documents to the right parties informing them of Harry's change in position."

"Of course, Lord Black," the goblin replied dutifully, examining me again with his own beady eyes, whilst Bloodmoon sat straighter and stiffer.

"Thank you," Sirius nodded, "Both Harry and I have talked about this, we believe it would be for the best that we coordinate our financial efforts in the markets where we have similar interests, hence the reason why we asked for you both today," gesturing to the two goblins, who quickly nodded understanding at the situation.

"Of course," Dawnberg agreed, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of more gold in play, making coordinated moves. "Do you wish just one us to oversee your joint accounts?"

Already expecting such a question, they had a response prepared, "Account Manager Bloodmoon will continue to oversee my own vaults and interests," Harry said, quickly nodding to his manager. "He has serviced the Potter family interests successfully for many years, he has my total faith in his abilities," seeing the referenced account manager smile like a shark, as Dawnberg seemed less than pleased at the statement of support. "My Godfather and I just wish you to coordinate your efforts; if for whatever reason there is disagreement on what to do in these joint business ventures, please contact us, and we will make the final decision based on which option we find more agreeable with our long-term goals and plans."

"Of course," Bloodmoon said, speaking for the first time in their meeting, now feeling more secure in his position.

"I have finally decided to rebuild the Potter docklands," Harry stated plainly, but the passion in his voice was hard to miss. "However, I plan on expanding it greatly as well in the process, both in size and scope. My Godfather here has agreed to act on my behalf whilst I am in school, since regular and timely contact will be impossible," he said to the pair as Sirius nodded.

"A sound business investment," Dawnberg agreed. "The Black family vaults could also grow greatly if this venture is successful."

"Good," Sirius agreed, "I also want you to investigate this for us." Taking the locket out of his robe pocket and handing it to them. "There are enchantments on it we can't break; we would like to hire some of your best curse breakers to take a crack at them and find out what was so special about this locket."

"Of course," Dawnberg agreed, taking the offered locket. "Just let me get the necessary paperwork for it."

"Bloodmoon," he said catching his Account Manager's attention. "You know my plans, and have already started implementing them," referring to the letters he had exchanged with the goblin since first learning of the docks. "Please speed up the procurement of the lands around the docks; you are authorized to use your discretion and offer more if it will speed up the process or to ensure the scope of what I'm doing remains secret for longer. If you can get a binding oath of secrecy regarding the purchases, then do so. I expect that my intentions will be known soon though regardless of the precautions we've taken, so much needs to be done before that happens… I want to start the first stages of reconstruction this spring."

**The Ministry of Magic**

"What are you doing here?" he hissed dangerously at the pathetic excuse of a man standing in front of him who flinched at his words, as he quickly looked around the bathroom. He privately wondered how in the hell the man had managed to infiltrate the Ministry of all places! He cast several privacy spells on the bathroom door, before looking down at the fearful man with hate filled eyes. 'No wonder he's a rat, he's a damn coward, but why is he here of all places?' he mentally ranted as he looked down at Wormtail. 'Maybe I should just kill him now and take the credit, it would also remove another link to the diary, and the Blacks would publically owe me one, but he would also lose the opportunity to get a hold of his fallen master's wand,' he thought as he looked at Peter, wondering what his fallen master ever saw in the rat, as he discreetly prepared to use his wand.

Watching closely, Peter looked around carefully before answering, "I need advice Lucius," Peter stuttered, looking up at him.

He considered the plea for assistance, "Make it quick, I need to get back to my meeting with the Minister," whilst still deciding whether to kill the man right now; the minister would surely reward me with a new title, but the Bones bitch wouldn't buy it and would certainly investigate why Peter was even here in the first place. Then he wouldn't get his fallen Master's wand either from Peter, what a prize that would be! It would be the centre piece of his dark arts collection as he thought back on the deal they made months earlier after the news broke out of Sirius' false imprisonment.

Peter would smuggle the enchanted diary into Hogwarts and kill Potter and hand over the Dark Lord's precious wand, in exchange for gold, a lot of gold, so that he could escape overseas and disappear for good before the Aurors finally found him, or the bounty hunters that the new Lord Black had hired. _No_, I'll kill him another time, maybe I could even get the bounty myself,' he mentally concluded.

"I delivered the diary as you instructed, passed it off to the Weasley girl as I know you hated the family," Peter began, offering a small smile. "But I can't find a way to kill Potter; he's too well protected," the man explained, his excuses falling off of his tongue with ease.

"Have you tried poisoning him?" he enquired, wondering if the fallen Gryffindor had used one of his rather favorite tools for killing his enemies.

"It would never work," Peter stated, shaking his head. "The goblets are enchanted."

"Yes, I know," interrupting the rat man whilst already coming up with a makeshift plan to play to Peter's strengths, which clearly wasn't fighting, but one that instead focused on the man's stealth and infiltration skills. "You don't poison the goblets used by the school, nor do you do it yourself," he stated, as Peter listened with great interest before explaining further. "You know the Imperius Curse don't you?" the balding wizard nodded in answer to that question.

"You cast it on a student, someone that you can control easily, like another second year, and then you have them poison him for you, whilst you escape," Peter nodded in understanding. "Do it this way, use the Curse on a first-year or second-year, I don't care, really." Lucius stated, before adding, "Actually maybe a muggleborn, if you can," he lectured, seeing a means to both discredit muggleborns further and undermine the resident Headmaster which furthered his own plans and goals. "Then provide them with some poisoned chocolates or sweets, depending on what Mr. Potter likes," he explained as Peter caught on

"Excellent idea," Peter stated, clearly liking this idea. "Valentine's Day is in a couple months. It will also give me time to prepare, and no one will expect the chocolates are poisoned if given to him by a girl with a silly crush." The balding wizard stated, with a smile forming as the animagus thought over the idea.

'I never thought of that,' he mentally admitted, taken by surprise at the Gryffindor's modified plan; it was positively cunning, almost Slytherin, but he didn't show this. 'I better get Cissa something good this year.' "Yes, that might work," giving his approval to the plan, "But remember the Potter family heir ring will have enchantments in place to detect most common poisons," pointing out the possible weakness in the plan. "But a couple of the rarer ones might work, what the ring hasn't been enchanted to detect," he offered. "Or you could just bewitch them to drive an enchanted poisoned dagger into his back, or even a regular knife at the dinner table, I admit it's not as discreet," Wormtail nodded at that, "but it certainly sends a message; remember if you take that route, poison and curse the blade beforehand, if you have problems getting one, I can always provide you one, for a small fee."

Composing himself as he made to leave the bathroom before he was missed, he looked over his shoulder at the man, "Maybe bewitch a friend of his if that is the case, it would be easier and the deed could be done in his dorm rooms away from the public eye giving you more time to flee," getting another nod in understanding. "Then have the person you imperioused kill themselves to buy you more time to make your escape," he unleashed a sinister smile at this, he really did love the planning of a good murder plot.

"Thank you Lucius," the man nodded, "Happy Christmas," Peter said lowly.

"Just remember the deal," he stated, before walking back to the Minister's Office, forgoing using the toilet.

"Ah, there you are Lucius, we thought you got lost," the Minister said good-naturedly as he gulped down some more red wine.

"I saw a business contact on the way back, I just wanted to pass on my wishes for a wonderful Christmas, Minister," he offered, whilst taking a bite of a mince pie.

"Ah, got any plans for Christmas?" Madam Umbridge enquired from her seat at her own master's side.

"Nothing significant, I recently bought another minor artifact for my collection," he offered, as he gracefully lowered himself back into his seat, wondering why in the hell she wore that hideous pink outfit.

"Good deal?" the Minister enquired.

Considering the question for a second, "Yes, it's worth five times what the seller is asking for it," he explained, loving the way their eyes bugged out in shock, "But the seller doesn't know that, he's somewhat new to the trade and needs the money quickly, something I'm more than willing to take advantage of."

"That's good," Fudge quickly agreed, before saying in a lower tone, "but I hope it's nothing illegal, Madam Bones is still asking for that search warrant to inspect your home, for some of your rarer pieces," referring discreetly to his dark arts collection.

"I'm sure you can keep her busy Minister, you are such a _resourceful_ man," Lucius carefully replied, stroking the man's ego with practiced ease, as he considered once again moving his precious dark arts collection somewhere else, rather than keeping it in his manor.

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note: **I first a thank you to my beta Joe Lawyer for checking the chapter. In addition I hope this answers some of your questions and enquires... if you can see the answers in this chapter.


	32. Y2 Christmas to Remember Pt2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M for safety; contains mature themes**.

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Notes: **

This is a pretty heavy hitting chapter with a word count way over 21k; I hope this makes up for the longer than average update time... I just felt that this chapter was important, and there had been lot of eager readers waiting for this first meeting between Harry and the Greengrasses.

Consequently it took me a while to get the encounter just the way I wanted it, something that I felt did credit to the story. I also had to get the Ministry Ball right, but it had to be different enough from the meeting with the Greengrasses.

So my beta and I have been emailing the doc back and forth working on it, revising it several times in both large and small ways. However, during this time of intense editing, revision and beta'ing I also managed to knock out chapter 33, and that chapter has already been beta'd and is nearly ready to go. I'll be posting that shortly.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 32: ****A Christmas to Remember Pt 2**

**Posted 14th May 2013**

**Revised and****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

Popping through the floo to Rita's apartment, he had plans to immediately start implementing his newest scheme, which had been slowly forming in the back of his mind ever since he had first discovered Sirius' set of charmed one-way mirrors. These mirrors had allowed his godfather to spy on girls during his school days. It was a rather ingenious plan, even if he said so himself. The only thing keeping him from implementing it was the knowledge of how the magic actually worked together. This was no longer a problem though, all thanks to Sirius' and Remus' wonderful Christmas present, a book containing all the spells and pranks the Marauders had ever created or performed while in school in furtherance of a prank. Naturally he expected the motivation behind the gift was to 'encourage' the Marauder in him, but he had far bigger and grander plans for the book.

Unfortunately the book lacked the necessary information to create another Marauders' Map, mainly due to the Marauders themselves no longer knowing how they did it, as its creation was a team effort between the four of them spanning a good deal of time and many failed efforts before they finally succeeded. Oh well, he would have still gone after the original map anyways, since he didn't like the idea of someone being able to track him in real-time around the school. There was also the fact that Pettigrew knew about it, and, depending on who had it currently, if Pettigrew got a hold of it he would be able to track Harry throughout the school just waiting for the perfect time to ambush him again. Of course, Harry could use it too, to watch for the rat as well as help him get around the school during the evening undetected.

His idea was simple and rather elegant in its design he thought. He then heard Rita's footsteps from above, "I'll be down in a minute!" she cried from above, as he settled down on the sofa.

Sirius and his father had been typical Gryffindors when they had created the mirrors to perv on their female year-mates, too blinded by their teenage hormones to see how the simple one-way mirrors could be put to a wider-use, which any true Slytherin would have noticed straight away. Mirrors were everywhere in the world, both muggle and magical, and everyone liked seeing their reflections. They were all over houses, offices, businesses, bathrooms and were even carried by people in their day-to-day lives. So why couldn't he set up a network of charmed mirrors to spy and gather information?

After all, knowledge was power; knowing what his enemies were planning would be a major advantage and even just general information had its uses. It would be like playing a game of poker, but being able to see their hands…. He was good at what he did, but he could always use such an advantage.

That was one of his tasks upon his return to Hogwarts; he was simply going to set up a grid, a spy network around the school. Whilst he personally doubted the information gain from the exercise would be all that important or valuable, it would be an effective proving ground for the concept, and if it worked, it could be employed in the larger world... for which he had the perfect tool and agent for the task already on his payroll.

Smiling as he heard the familiar tap of heels on wood, "Malcolm! You're early!" Rita exclaimed like an excited schoolgirl rushing into the front room, before stopping in surprise at seeing him sitting comfortably on her couch like he owned it, "Oh. My Lord," she greeted, recovering her wits rather fast. That was certainly admirable.

Smirking from the couch, "No need to dress up for me," he said good naturedly, while admiring Rita in her classic red ball gown. When she dressed appropriately, she was actually a rather attractive woman. "Expecting someone else?" he offered from his place on Rita's sofa as he observed her reaction.

"I have a dinner date," she offered in explanation, shuffling uneasily on the spot. "What brings you around, my Lord?"

"Can't I just pop around and visit my favorite reporter?" he joked, discreetly admiring Rita's curves for once, before pushing such distracting thoughts from his mind. "It is Christmas after all, the season of good cheer." He could literally see her biting off a remark that she was his only reporter, as he mentally added 'for the moment.'

"My Lord, I'm very busy this evening," giving him a stern look, which had no absolutely no effect on him. "So could you please tell me why you're here?" the renowned reporter requested as respectfully as possible.

Mentally debating whether to remind the woman just who was in charge of this relationship, he quickly dismissed it as petty and childish and in the long-term possibly detrimental to his long-term interests. "I require you for New Year's Eve, I'll be attending the Ministry New Year's Ball with my Godfather; I want you there," he stated firmly, in a tone which clearly said that it was an order and not a request.

Once again she started shuffling uneasily on the spot like a soldier at attention, "My Lord, I'm not on the guest list; another Prophet reporter was selected to cover the event. Plus I've already made plans for New Year's."

Mentally sighing, "I never intended for you go in an official role," he explained. "I was intending to smuggle you in, just like I did at the bank," referring back to his meeting with the Hogwarts staff. He again debated whether to just order Rita to cancel her plans, as Rita shuffled again uneasily. Again, he decided against it, as Rita had been performing her duties and tasks exceptionally well so far and had actually gone above and beyond what he had expected on several occasions. The time for the proverbial 'stick' was not quite at hand. "_Fine_," at this Rita seemed to release a sigh of relief at him not forcing the issue, before he quickly added. "But remember, from now on you keep yourself free for official events, if not, well I'm going to have to punish you," catching her attention.

"I don't believe that would be necessary my Lord," the bound woman stated quickly.

"Maybe," he admitted, knowing it was unlikely. "It's just a warning in case I feel that you are failing in your duties and responsibilities to me," as he got out of his seat and walked into the kitchen. Speaking as he walked, "The Headmaster has erected new wards around Hogwarts, several of them are animagus detection wards and traps." He put on the kettle and set down a mug. Looking over his shoulder at the illegal animagus, "Want a cuppa?" he asked with causal ease as he worked his way around the familiar kitchen.

"No thank you, my Lord," Rita answered respectfully.

"Suit yourself," he said, as he added coffee and sugar to the cup, before turning back to face Rita. "Naturally, this means that you can't come onto the school grounds anymore for the foreseeable future, which I admit is a minor setback, but nothing major," as the kettle popped. "Have you been keeping up with your studies?" referring to his orders for her to learn the mind arts.

"It is a most difficult skill to learn," Rita started, "I find that I don't have the time to effectively study it," as Harry drank some of his coffee.

Considering his reply before speaking, he leaned casually against the table, "That's most disappointing," his tone cold. "I was able to learn and use mind magic as a first year, while having little experience with magic," Rita once again shuffled uneasily. "But it is a difficult skill," he offered. "But I expect better effort on your part," sounding like a stern teacher or parent as he spoke. Drinking some more of his coffee, "I trust that you will find the energy and time to learn the skill? I assure you, it has many benefits."

"Yes, my Lord," nodding her head while understanding that it was an order, not a request, and that failure carried consequences.

"Good, otherwise you may find yourself lacking a social life until you do," he remarked nonchalantly as he examined his dressed up reporter, wondering if she had been more successful and driven in her other assigned tasks. "Now show me these files that I asked you to start creating," referring to their meeting in Hogsmeade over a month and half ago as Rita took off up the stairs.

He took the head's seat at the kitchen table while waiting for Rita to return with the files she had been ordered to prepare. Within a matter of minutes Rita was back holding a brown box and placing it on the table for his inspection. Hoping the box to reveal several shrunken files, he quickly flicked his wand to resize it to its normal dimensions. Picking a file at random from the pile, he flicked open the file in his hand, before quickly scanning the top document to see that the file was on a Ministry employee called Dirk Cresswell, a muggleborn wizard currently working in the Goblin Liaison Office. This was a rather impressive achievement and a testament to the man's ability, since he had been able to overcome the traditional Ministry resistance to appointing muggleborns to influential positions.

Closing the file, "Good job Rita," he noted, looking over at the clock, realizing he had to go before Sirius noticed he had disappeared. He also had to do some shopping in the alley before he returned, "Keep up the good work, I'll leave you to enjoy your evening."

"Thank you, my lord," Rita replied obediently as he headed over to the fireplace to leave.

**Magical Menagerie **

Stepping into the pet store for the first time, his senses were bombarded with different animal cries and smells. Spotting the section he needed almost instantly, a cluster of owls in cages set him into motion as he headed towards the owl section of the store looking for high quality owl treats and a new owl perch for Serenity. However, as he made his way across the shop floor he was bombarded with voices, almost hissing in nature; he spun around looking for the source of the voices, but only saw customers talking quietly amongst themselves.

Masking a rare frown, he moved across the shop floor looking for the source of the voices he was hearing. As he entered the reptile section his mind started narrowing down the possible options; as he arrived at the snake/reptile section of the store the pieces finally started to come together, when he remembered his family tree having a connection to the Slytherin family. Kneeling down by the glass cage which reminded him of a fish tank, he observed the resident snake basking on a rock feature in the cage, "Warm" it hissed in its obviously cozy and comfortable state.

It took a moment for the discovery to sink in; he was able to understand snakes! As excitement ran up his spine at the discovery that he was a parselmouth, cold logic kicked in reminding him that the talent was unfairly considered dark by the British wizarding world. While that mattered little to him, he would keep his newly discovered talent hidden for the time being with the whole Chamber of Secrets deal ongoing. He turned to listen to the other snakes in turn. If anyone had been watching him, all they would have seen was a kid eyeing some possible pets, never guessing that he was listening to their voices. He was tempted to buy a magical snake right away, so he could start practicing the skill and start to learn its limitations and possible usages, but it was hardly a suitable time.

He couldn't take the snake to Hogwarts for several reasons, first it wasn't one of the officially sanctioned pets, only owls, toads, and cats were, and he could hardly leave it with his godfather. He also already had Serenity, whilst not officially his owl she was as good as. Then there was the problem that even if, somehow, he got the snake into the school, it would be mighty suspicious given the current events unfolding at the school, even if snakes themselves were fond of eating rats, and he could explain it away by that argument alone given Pettigrew. That could be countered, in turn, by asking why he didn't just buy a cat then. This occurring to him at the same time as he looked over at the felines on display.

'I'll buy a snake another time,' he mentally concluded, 'probably this summer,' already making plans as he moved over to the felines, before one feline caught his attention as he read the description beneath its cage. 'Kneazles have a very high level of intelligence, are independent and occasionally aggressive, and have an uncanny ability to detect suspicious and distrustful people. They can also safely guide their owner home. Because of their aggression towards certain individuals, Kneazles have a XXX classification by the Ministry of Magic _if_ they are not interbred with another species.' Smiling as he read more and more about the magical cat species, he noticed that most of the Kneazles on display were half breeds at best, and were warily of him.

After looking over the cats for a while, and ignoring the snake voices, he concluded that he would have to find out more about the species before he executed his recently formed plans. Picking up the items he originally came into the store for, he discreetly paid the store owner an additional galleon to use his floo rather than make the journey back to use a public one in the alley.

Reappearing in _12 Grimmauld Place, _he gracefully stepped out of the fireplace, just to be greeted by Remus waiting for him. "Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you," the werewolf demanded.

'Still hasn't worked it out yet that I don't like him,' he thought, "Shopping" he said, while holding up the bag as evidence, with the shop name clearly printed on the brown bag reading '_**Magical Menagerie.'**_"The line was longer that I expected…" he offered in explanation as he tried to move past the werewolf.

"Harry, _stop_, we're just trying to help you," Remus pleaded while grabbing Harry's arm.

"I don't _need_ your help, nor do I _want_ it," he shot back quickly with a good amount of the venom that he was feeling for the werewolf who was trying to push his way into his life. "I was fine for eleven years without you; just because you're living here doesn't mean you're family. A friend? No, I don't need you." Pushing the arm away, "I'll be in the library if Sirius needs me."

**Library**

"You know you have Remus downing a bottle of fire whiskey downstairs?" his cousin asked from where she was leaning against the bookshelves, her arms folded across her chest just like a mother would when scolding a misbehaving child, even if the effect was weakened with her being in tight, low rise, hip-hugging jeans and a Weird Sisters sleeveless top, showing just a sliver of tantalizing skin at her midriff.

"The truth often hurts," he stated dispassionately, as he flipped a page of the book he was reading.

"You know, you had a lot of people worried about you?" Tonks stated as he looked up from the book he was reading on magical creatures. "_I_ was worried about you."

Mentally sighing as Tonks successfully employed a guilt trip, his gut rebelled, even if his mind understood objectively what was happening. "It was meant to be no more than a five minute errand, things just took longer than planned; there were unforeseen events," he stated plainly, whilst debating whether to just tell Tonks that he was a parselmouth, even if it went against his decision less than hour earlier to keep the knowledge to himself for the moment.

There were several advantages to telling her though. First, it would strengthen the bond between them, their relationship would grow closer and Tonks would in turn believe that he had taken her more into his trust and she would open up more to him in turn. It would also give him someone he could share it with, and help protect the secret as well, even if it increased the risk of being discovered. However, she could react badly and run off he thought, before he remembered that she was a puff, famous for their loyalty and she was family after all. Taking the seat next to him on the sofa, "So what caused these unforeseen events?" his cousin predictably enquired, as he started to take control of the chat.

Closing the tome, he decided to run with the idea of sharing his newly discovered ability with her, "Promise me that what I'm about to tell you, you will keep to yourself. I'd rather keep this a secret, as people will react negatively if they found out," deciding that an oath of secrecy would be counterproductive to establishing shared trust and would imply that he wasn't ready to trust her.

"Sure, Harry," Tonks agreed quickly, much quicker than he expected. "You're my cousin," she said earnestly and gave him a tight hug.

Mentally taking a moment to compose himself, so he didn't appear eager to talk, only reluctant to share what he was about to tell her, he looked around the room, acting the part. "I am a parselmouth," he said quietly, as Tonks' hug loosened. "When I walked into the pet store I heard voices, dozens of them, I knew it wasn't the customers, so I looked for the source; it was the snakes on display."

"Ohh Harry," Tonks said hugging him tightly, trying to comfort him.

"I think you understand now why I was delayed," he stated, his arm wrapping around her waist, hugging her back in a sideways hug.

"Yea, I understand now," hugging again.

"Thanks cuz," he said, while rubbing her side affectionately, before adding softly, "I just remember how everyone reacted around Neville after finding out that he was a parselmouth," he started. "He is the lovable, famous and popular 'Boy-Who-Lived,' if people abandoned him over it, what would happen to me?" he asked her, whilst remembering what it was like not having any friends at primary school, how his cousin had scared them all away with rumors and threats.

He mentally patted himself on the back for his superb acting skills; by god did he love the mind arts when it gave him this much control over his displayed emotions. It even allowed him to call up specific emotions in this situation just by recalling disheartening memories. It just gave him so much control, as Tonks pulled him closer and tighter, "Don't worry cuz, I won't abandon you," she reassured him, at the same time as her hug stirred up _other_ primal desires in him, along with the proverbial snake he had in his trousers, which he promptly suppressed with his mind magic, even as he enjoyed the physical touch and closeness of her supple body.

"I was thinking about how useful snakes could be in finding and detecting Pettigrew. Then I noticed the cats, and read the description of Kneazles," showing her the book he was reading on creatures. "It occurred to me that Kneazles could help detect Pettigrew far easier than snakes. I was just trying to learn more about them and the true extent of their abilities. Want to help?"

"Sure Harry," she quickly agreed, picking up a book.

He mentally pat himself on the back as Tonks opened the book, "Thanks."

**Later That Day**

Checking himself over in the mirror for what felt like the hundredth time that evening, he worked with his outfit some more, still trying to convey the perfect impression, but this was proving far harder than he originally thought. 'Where's Tonks when you need her,' acknowledging his beautiful cousin's excellent sense of style, even if she was a bit too gothic for his taste.

Normally he wasn't this obsessive about getting the right look, but tonight would be the first time he would meet with the Greengrass family officially and he wanted to make the right impression for many different reasons. The main reason was that forging a connection with them would help him in the restoration of his own family's influence. Despite his recent successes, he couldn't afford to slack off in his duties. It took time and great patience to gather favours and influence, and it couldn't be achieved without a lot of hard work on his part.

The problem he was facing was that jeans just wouldn't cut it as he would normally just wear a pair of nice jeans and a matching shirt, but that just wouldn't do. This was first of all, a formal dinner and second, jeans were a distinctly 'muggle' item. Even if the younger generations were slowly starting to wear them more, like most things in the magical world he noticed, the culture was slow to change and even slower to adopt 'outside' ideas. The magical culture within Britain, as a whole, was resistant to anything muggle inspired just on principle. Nevertheless, he hoped his newest idea for a business venture would help change that. However, he would need the Greengrass family if he wished to be successful; they were in an ideal position with their strong market interests in the clothing and fashion industry.

Sure, you could buy a pair of jeans from a magical store, but they were few and far between and had very limited selection. After all, most of the well established fashion brands were run by the old families, who were naturally reluctant to change their tried and tested lineups. Putting on a stylish black robe he understood the reasons why such individuals were hesitant to change their ways, and it didn't help that blood purity was still a cultural backbone in higher society with house rankings and status. This was also incidentally where most of Britain's wealth was held and controlled.

Regardless of the difficulty, it was a market opportunity he was willing to fight for and exploit, as he could see the culture slowly moving in that direction already. It only made sense to be at the forefront and ground floor of this burgeoning industry by giving it a little push and earning the profits to go with it. If others weren't willing to market and sell such goods, it just meant that he would get a stranglehold on that area of the market faster. Frankly, he didn't expect it to take long for modern fashion trends to replace the traditional ones. After all, you are only going to wear whatever makes you feel better, whether that feeling was sexy, or confident, just so long as you weren't over shadowed by another. It was a bit like school, everyone wanted to look their best. Naturally, he expected that someone powerful would take offence and try to stop his plans in their tracks, probably one of Lucius' associates if he had to guess, another stuck up pureblood too rich and narrow-minded for their own good. This was one of the reasons why he wanted it to be a joint venture with the Greengrass family. He didn't want to spread his resources too thin since he had greater plans in motion with the reconstruction of the Potter docks. While this would lessen his long-term profits, bringing a partner in would significantly reduce the upfront capital needed to get it up and running while sharing the inevitable political headaches with a more seasoned and entrenched political operator.

He left his room after deciding that if he stayed any longer he would just pick another outfit. He was feeling very restless; this meeting could help him out a great deal in the future. Heading down the stairs to the front room, he patiently waited for his godfather to arrive. Finally, Sirius turned up wearing long, flowing, traditional wizard robes, the Black family crest proudly visible on his chest as he strolled across the floor. Examining Sirius as he walked over, he noticed that his godfather lacked that joyful bounce in his step that he had gotten used to seeing. "Ready?" his godfather asked dryly, somewhat out of character.

Deciding to figure out what was up with his godfather later, rather than trying to work out what was bothering him now, he answered affirmatively as he rose from his seat. Quickly looking in a nearby mirror hanging above the fireplace, he re-seated his glasses on his nose. He wouldn't ever admit this aloud, but he was privately looking forward to his next medical exam and the hope that very soon he wouldn't need them anymore, even if they did make him look rather smart.

Mentally sighing, he wondered when he had become vain about his appearance. He set this bit of introspection aside for the time being as Sirius activated the floo, before throwing some floo power into the fire, turning it an eerie green, thus signaling it was ready to be used. "Greengrass Manor," Sirius stated firmly, before walking through the enchanted fireplace.

Following his godfather's lead, he grabbed his own handful before throwing it into the fireplace as well. "Greengrass Manor," he said clearly, before stepping through the green flames. Emerging from the magical flames, he almost tripped on the room's rich rug as he stepped out, but managed to regain his balance. Comically falling out of the fireplace would have done wonders for his dignity, he thought wryly.

"Still getting used to traveling by floo, Harry?" the familiar voice of Lord Greengrass observed, looking down at Harry with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Fighting the urge to blush and the similarly childish urge to blame the rug as an excuse, he answered. "Indeed, I expect it's like most things in life, you just need practice," he expressed calmly, noticing a small smile appear on the Lord's stern features. He then took a moment to stealthily straighten his robes, making sure that he didn't look ruffled by the near pratfall, as he looked around the entry room for the first time. Grand and refined were the two words he would use to describe the entrance room, much like the family themselves. His eyes immediately recognized the subtle displays of wealth in the room meant to impress visitors, such as the huge polished black marble fireplace and the richly embroidered carpet. There were also displays of their family history with the family crest displayed just above the doorway, a reminder of their position and just how old the family was, with several old enchanted portraits hanging on the walls in silver and gold frames.

But, at the same time, it felt empty and cold. It lacked that intangible feeling that said that this was a living space. 'This room is purely for show,' he thought, as he examined the portraits along the ivory cream colored walls, the cream drawing the eye back to the fireplace as the room's defining feature. "I trust that you have had a good holiday so far Lord Greengrass?" he enquired, using the man's formal title as protocol demanded. When his lordships became public knowledge, his title would be used in the same way.

"Please feel free to drop the Lord title, you're making me feel awfully old," the middle-aged man stated good naturedly, whilst Sirius smirked at the reply. "You can call me Nicholas whilst we are in private, in public it will be Lord as social formalities require. To answer your original question we have had a rather pleasant Christmas all told," Nicholas answered. "And thank you Sirius for your gift; that Icelandic whiskey was most exotic and enjoyable."

"You're welcome," Sirius replied easily with a mischievous grin. "Everyone likes good whiskey, even got Harry here started on what will hopefully be a life-long affair with fine liquor," he said, whilst slapping Harry suddenly on the back to emphasize the point.

"Well, let's move into the front room and meet with the ladies," Nicholas suggested, leading them out the room.

**Midnight Lord**

"Penny dear, pass the sweets," her mother requested from the sofa where she was busy cuddling with Samuel, or 'Sam,' as her stepfather liked to be known as, whilst they watched a new Christmas crime drama on the TV.

Truthfully, she had come to loathe the man, since she was relatively sure that he was the reason why her mother wanted to withdraw her from Hogwarts. Then there was also that natural sense of loyalty to her birth father, even if she rarely saw him nowadays. She still found it utterly ridiculous that she was encouraged to call Sam 'dad.' Despite these feelings, she still wanted her mother to be happy; she couldn't help but feel that her mother could do so much better, just like she had realized with Percy.

Disturbingly, her attraction had actually shifted to Harry, with the young lord starring prominently in a number of her wet dreams and fantasies, even if she was only just starting to admit this to herself. She couldn't help but wonder if the companion oath she had sworn to Harry was affecting her subconscious mind. Nothing in her research about the oath had described any similar phenomenon, but denial was a powerful emotion she admitted. None of these thoughts showed on her face however. This was Christmas, a time of joy, and the last thing she wanted to do was spoil it by being a selfish bitch too wrapped up in her own issues to enjoy the holiday and time with family. She handed her mother the sweets with a smile, "Here mum."

"Thanks dear," her mother expressed, whilst taking the bowl of sweets; Sam lovingly kissing her mum on the forehead once she sat back.

Turning her attention back to the television drama, she found it a thrilling puzzle trying to solve the crime before it was revealed to the viewers. This reminded her of the Chamber of Secrets and the attacks currently plaguing the school.

Even without detailed knowledge of magical law enforcement's investigative techniques, she could already see the difference in how non-magicals and magicals investigated and solved crimes. However, this did stir an interest in her to try using adapted muggle investigative methods to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets.

"You ok dear?" her mum asked, her fingers unwrapping a toffee chew, before popping it into her mouth.

"Fine mum, just thinking," she expressed, as the Christmas commercials ended.

"I know that look, its boy troubles!" her mother exclaimed with an excited smile. "Is it that ginger haired boy you introduced me to? Peter Weasel?" this caused her to burst out into giggles.

"No mum," she answered with amusement, thinking about telling this story to Harry upon their return to school. "Mum, first, his name is Percy Weasley, not Peter Weasel. Second, I decided he just wasn't for me. He comes from an old pureblood family who remains under the impression that proper women stay home and raise the kids, like an old Victorian-era family," she saw her mother frown at this. "Besides, he couldn't kiss worth a damn," she added, lightening the mood, and throwing an outrageous wink at her mother.

"Is good kissing really that important to you ladies? Do you really judge a guy based on how he kisses?" Sam asked the pair of them.

"Yes!" they both exclaimed, her mother erupting into giggles before turning to Sam. "Don't worry love, you're a _good_ kisser," her mother expressed as they erupted into an impromptu snogging session.

"I love you Ann," Sam stated firmly, looking down into her mother's eyes.

"I love you too," her mother replied, kissing Sam lightly on his lips before pulling away and turning back to me. "So, are all wizard marriages like that?" looking slightly concerned.

"Oh no," Penny stated already seeing where this was going. "As I've talked about before, the magical world can be separated into three groups, pureblood, half blood, and muggleborns. I'm a muggleborn, Percy however was a pureblood. Most purebloods follow old traditions and are still very much Victorian in their practices, going as far as arranging marriage contracts for their children."

"Marriage contracts? They're illegal here in Britain," Sam stated with concern.

"Wizards and witches have their own separate laws, Sam" she stated. "It's actually a fairly uncommon practice nowadays. It's only really practiced anymore by the really old houses, who remain both wealthy and noble."

"That's good to know," Sam expressed.

"Yeah, Percy's family was a part of that group, at least that of an old family if not wealthy and noble, so his upbringing has instilled some rather Victorian beliefs and values," Penny stated. "This was one of the reasons why I moved on."

"At times _your _world seems so archaic and outdated," her mother voiced, as Sam nodded silently in agreement.

"Compared to the muggle culture that's true in a sense," admitting the point, but wanting to defend it. "You have to remember though mum that magicals live much longer on average then muggles. Depending on how strong magically we are, the longer we live. The typical lifespan for a wizard or witch of average magical power is somewhere between 125-175 years. That easily double or more the lifespan of a muggle today. It's triple or more the average lifespan of a muggle of just a hundred years ago." She watched the pair's jaws drop open with amazement, not realizing just how different magicals were in this regard. "The Headmaster of Hogwarts, a wizard of considerable magical power, is actually over 150 years old, but he barely looks seventy," she explained. "Even at 150, he's probably got quite a few years left in him and is currently Chief Warlock of the British Wizengamot and head of the International Confederation of Wizards. Two powerful positions in both the British and world magical government.".

"That is just one example of the many differences between magicals and muggles, but it's one of the reasons why the magical world is so slow to change compared to the muggle world. Far older men and women stay in government longer and naturally limit how quick cultural change can take place. They were quite literally brought up in another time, in another era, in another century. If muggles lived as long as magicals, it'd be the same way here. The natural order of the younger generation replacing the old, or in other words, new ideas supplanting the old ones, just takes more time."

"Makes sense," Sam stated to himself.

"So who is this boy then?" her mother asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

**Greengrass Manor – Dining Room**

Observing their dinner guests across the table, she personally found both Sirius and his young charge, Harry, a delightful change of pace compared to some of her and her husband's typical business associates. Her foot continued to rub playfully against her husband Nicholas' leg, teasing her husband out of sight beneath the dining table. "So Harry, what are your favorite subjects at Hogwarts?" Cynthia asked pleasantly, wanting to know more about the future dual Lord and if he could prove to be a suitable match for either of her daughters.

She detected a brief moment of hesitation as Harry mentally weighed his response to her question, just like Daphne would have done. "Charms, and Transfiguration… but DADA would be higher on the list if we had better teachers in that subject. Most of my DADA learning is actually done independently with my cousin Tonks. There is runes as well," Harry offered in explanation, as he cut some more of his expertly prepared beef.

'That's rather interesting, especially the little bit about runes being of interest even when he's too young to have taken the class. Very ambitious independent studying there,' she noted whilst demurely sipping some of the fine red wine from her glass as her husband replied. "Indeed, Daphne expressed similar views, on the subject and the teacher," Nicholas expressed with a minor frown at the corresponding reports. DADA was an important class after all. To have a sub-standard teacher in that important subject invited disaster if the dark times ever returned.

"Indeed, Professor Lockhart is quite simply an idiot," Harry stated firmly, catching her by surprise at the bluntness of his assessment. This added another dimension to the already intriguing young lord.

"Undeniably an idiot, but Harry is being far _too kind_ in his assessment of the man," her eldest suddenly added surprisingly, speaking up without being prompted to. "I have several associates in Slytherin who have a similar view of the man's ability,' which increased her interest in Harry further as Daphne would normally have remained quiet during a meal such as this, keeping her counsel to herself unless someone asked her a direct question. This implied that she felt quite a bit of trust and respect for Harry, and was comfortable sharing her thoughts with him. It was the beginnings of a valued partnership.

"I'm sure there is a reason he was hired for the post," Nicholas expressed, as he topped up his wine class, before gesturing around the table silently inquiring if anyone would like more. She covered her glass with her hand making it clear that she was fine, whilst stopping her teasing of her husband under the table.

Resting her knife and fork on the plate in front of her, she patted her lips delicately with her napkin. "So Harry, what are you thinking to take as your elective choices next year? You already mentioned an interest in runes," directing the chat away from the 'idiot' DADA teacher and onto safer grounds for the meal.

"Runes, Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures," his reply instant and unwavering. 'Strong and firm. Decisive,' she noted, finding such traits impressive in one _so_ young as she respectfully listened to the future Lord Potter. There was no nervousness at all speaking so candidly with a group of adults. "I have no interest in divination however, it doesn't help that the teacher is a drunk," his features clearly showing his distaste for the subject and its teacher. "Far better to focus on useful skills and subjects. I can always conduct my own independent studies if there is a need for it." She smiled at the final remark, already expecting Daphne would make similar choices with the notable exception of the mandatory 'Muggle Studies,' in place of COMC. After all, her daughter would never be raising animals like some commoner; she would just hire others to do so.

"What about you Daphne?" Sirius asked, sipping his wine.

"The same as Harry, Lord Black, with similar reasoning as well," her daughter replied evenly, her mask still in place as the perfect pureblood daughter. This was quite unlike Astoria who openly yawned, much to her and Nicholas' own embarrassment, even if she didn't allow it to show on her face and alert her guests. However, before she could send her youngest a warning look, Sirius spoke up.

"Addressing me as 'Lord Black' is unnecessary; it makes me feel old and ancient," Sirius expressed, before turning to her youngest with an indulgent smile. "What house do you think you'll be in Astoria?" encouraging her youngest daughter to speak.

"Slytherin!" her daughter exclaimed, happy at being invited to talk with the adults. "But Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad either."

"I think you would make a rather good Gryffindor," Sirius teased, as her husband choked on his food, whilst she caught Harry discreetly rolling his eyes at his godfather's remarks.

She watched as her youngest daughter gave a rather un-lady like shrug of her shoulders. "I'd much rather be with my sister," causing her eldest daughter to smile fondly at her sister's response.

"Slytherin house has many useful qualities; it encourages one's independence and individual ability more than the other houses through intense competition and a strict hierarchy." Harry added, entering the discussion and defending the fourth Hogwarts house, even if it was not his own. "But it's not the best house for making friends as individual ability often comes at the cost of true friends… So choose your friends wisely," this bit of advice showed a surprising amount of wisdom for his age.

"That's a very wise observation Harry," Nicholas expressed, mirroring her own assessment of the remark. "What makes you say that?"

"I was almost sorted into Slytherin," giving a simple, but rather vague reply. He elaborated in response to their sharp questioning looks. "Slytherin is all about reaching the top. It's about the climb, and Slytherin house encourages its members to hone the skills necessary to 'reach the top' in the relatively low-stakes environment of school, where a misstep's consequences aren't quite as serious as it would be if in the real world. On the way 'to the top' friends can often slow you down or outright stab you in the back. The best way to get around that is to make friends and allies with individuals who compensate for your weakness, and ideally you would in turn compensate for theirs. There has to be a mutual gain, otherwise you will always be worried about them discarding or betraying you for advantage."

"That's a rather jaded outlook Harry," Sirius argued.

"I prefer the word _realistic_," Harry quickly countered as he used the napkin. "The real world is an unfair place with many harsh realities to it. Some people suffer at the hands of others just because others can make them suffer," sending Sirius a look which quickly sobered up the Lord, a private meaning passing between them, catching her experienced eye. 'Interesting,' she silently noted, thinking back to Daphne's supplied information on the lad, and the knowledge that he was raised in the muggle world with his mother's relatives. 'Maybe his childhood wasn't a good one?' she speculated. It would explain his unusual maturity and rather pragmatic outlook on life while so young. "The best thing you can do is help yourself. Slytherin teaches this better than all the other houses. The world we live in is about power in one form or another. Some people want it. Others have it and _desperately_ want to keep it."

"Maybe," Sirius offered, before shaking his head in sadness whilst reaching for his wine glass. 'Someone so young shouldn't see the world like this, true or not,' Sirius thought privately.

"Now that we are done with dinner, shall we move on to dessert," Nicholas asked, as the group nodded, the house elf quickly appearing and taking all the dirty plates away, before a series of fresh clean plates appeared, along with half a dozen different cakes artfully arranged down the middle of the table along with some fruit for show.

Once again she was taken by surprise at how Harry went for the firm green apple instead of any of the sweet cakes, like most kids she knew. After all, the apples and fruits were purely for show, as his dessert knife cut the apple up into eighths.

"Cynthia? I see you have a question?" Harry observed, a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes as he faced her, clearly noticing her surprise. As she gathered herself, she wondered what she did to give herself away.

"Yes, the fruit is _normally_ just for show," she stated firmly, her veil of ice rising.

"My apologies, I was unaware of that," he offered back, but clearly not bothered by it.

"Harry. Daphne said that you had a possible business proposal you would like to discuss with us," Nicholas began, interrupting the potentially uncomfortable exchange between his wife and guest.

"Indeed, I was uncertain if it was acceptable protocol to discuss business matters whilst enjoying such a fine meal," Harry replied back, his words easily slytherin in nature, as she noticed Sirius' interest spike, making it clear his godfather had no foreknowledge of this topic.

"Of course, this is an open discussion," her husband encouraged. "Would you like more wine?"

"If you don't mind," Sirius answered, whilst she held out her own glass as well

Cutting into her piece of carrot cake, Harry spoke up again, "I noticed there is an opportunity in the clothing market which could be rather profitable, if handled correctly," this aroused her interests, given that she was the one who primary handled their family's lucrative clothing line since her husband didn't have much interest in fashion or frankly the eye for it. "Non-magical clothing has become increasingly popular with the younger generations and this will only grow in time. However, there are no magical stores or chains which reliably supply these cutting edge fashion trends, forcing muggleborns and half-bloods to buy such products from the non-magical markets. I myself, at times, find wizard brands too conformist, with far too little selection and diversity, and frankly a bit old fashioned for my tastes considering I grew up in the non-magical world. I propose creating a fashion brand which caters to _this_ underserved market segment. We can easily adapt to current non-magical fashion trends, but give them a magical twist by adding runes and enchantments to increase the standards of the product, and other charms, such as animation charms for logos or images," Harry suggested as she looked over at her husband, finding the idea rather appealing, innovative, and well thought out for a second year student with minimal exposure to magic or business.

Several minutes passed in silence as they all ate their dessert before Nicholas finally spoke up. "It's an interesting proposal; there is indeed a possible new market, but there are several significant problems I foresee. First, there is a risk to the Statute of Secrecy when you talk about enchanting muggle clothes. Muggleborns could unknowingly wear such enchanted clothes into public, unlike with wizard robes. I admit, it's a low chance, but there is a chance for exposure and that will have the Ministry up in arms. Then there is the fact that many of my colleagues in the Wizengamot will feel threatened by this new business, fearing increased muggle influence in our culture and will move to prevent such developments. Then there is the Weaver's Guild to consider, and I can assure you, since I'm a member of the guild and know how they operate, that they will move to prevent you from entering this market. The competition is intense enough already and they will not welcome a newcomer who seeks to undermine all their members' businesses with new ideas that they'd be hard pressed to compete against. They will use their considerable influence and move to stop you before you even open the first store; even with my help, which I assume is the reason you approached me. Frankly, I'm not sure it could be done."

"That's unfortunate," Harry stated, his expression unchanged at the bad news. "Just how competitive is the clothing sector then?"

Speaking up so her husband could have some of his dessert instead of talking, "The Weaver's Guild is not just located here in Great Britain, it's one of the few guilds around that spread across the whole of Europe. There are dozens of clothing brands whose controlling families are located here in Britain though. Even then, there is a significant chance of other families outside of Britain moving to stop you as well," she advised.

"I was aware guilds still existed in the magical world, but was not aware of the current strength of them," he replied. "What other guilds are international in their area of influence?"

"There is the Fishing Guild; they control who has the rights to fish where, who can catch what, what the agreed price of certain fish is on the open market. Then there is the Wand Crafter's Guild, they control wand making. They are the strongest of the guilds in direct influence as they have direct ties with the magical governments and the law enforcement of their respective countries. They supply lists of all the wands that they've sold and their customers, as well apply the tracking charms of the respective countries. The Ministries protect them. Then you also have the Potions Guild, similar to the others. They control what potions get sold. What the official brewing instructions and ingredients are, what the price is, who is approved to purchase, etc. Those are the 'Big 4' as they're known," she listed.

"The Broomstick Guild is pretty powerful as well," Sirius added, taking the group by surprise. "They managed to get flying carpets banned entirely in most of Western Europe if I recall. That's a shame considering how useful a flying carpet can be. A carpet can hold many passengers and can fly at higher speeds for longer distances much more comfortably, as well as carry cargo That's a rather important consideration for business. A ship can carry far more, more efficiently, but for small shipments that require fast delivery, a flying carpet is ideal. There are many magical substances that just can't be transported via portkey that can be easily transported by carpet. It's actually thought that the ban went into effect to also ensure that the various Ministries would be able to continue collecting tax revenues on portkeys and traditional shipping."

"Fair enough," Harry stated, having another piece of his apple, giving the impression it was the end of the discussion. "If I wanted to get into the clothing market I would need some leverage," he said more to himself than the table, surprising her again at how fast the boy caught on to the dealings of business, and what would be needed to succeed.

"Indeed, something they couldn't ignore," Nicholas stated, "But your idea is a good one; if things change I might be willing to give it a go with you, if it's still profitable."

**Hogwarts – Potion Master Quarters**

Severus Snape was a schemer by nature, a brewer who plotted in the shadows looking for any advantage. But here he was doing a job that he absolutely hated, teaching idiotic children how to brew potions. He downed some more brandy to numb his depression. He hated his crappy life, stuck in this hellhole of a school, with a small crappy office and an unimpressive wage, all due to the wishes of his two masters. Not even a good fucking whore, who could nearly lobotomize a man with pleasure, could change his sour mood, nor could a bottle of the finest brandy.

"Hey Hun, where is my gold again?" the dark red-haired whore asked, her immaculate silk gown back in place as if it had not spent time crumpled on the floor of his bedroom.

"On the bedside table," he answered coldly as the woman left his presence. 'What had happened with his life? What had happened to all the grand plans of his youth? His hopes and dreams,' he asked himself.

Looking up at the attractive whore widely known as 'Ruby Red,' which was clearly an alias to hide her turn identify, he saw her looking down at him, clearly wanting something. "What?" he spat.

"Call this professional curiosity, or my own damn pride, but why aren't you happy? You just did things that many men can only dream of. Darling, most of my past customers would be grinning for days after doing what we just did?" Ruby Red asked.

"Does it matter? You've got your gold? What do you care?" he spat, pulling his robe tighter around his chest.

"I don't," Ruby answered firmly, sitting on the arm of the chair, flashing a long, supple, creamy leg. "Just wanted to know if I'm losing my touch."

"You're not," he said firmly. "You can go now, I don't care about the still remaining half hour on the clock you have with me," just wanting the nosey whore to leave.

"Fine, sulk, I don't care," getting up and walking over to the private office floo to leave, her ass swaying side-to-side in her tight red gown, her heels clicking across the floor. "Whatever your problem is, I can assure you, sitting there doing nothing isn't going to change it," Ruby stated firmly.

Looking over to her as she grabbed the floo powder, he suddenly asked, "Why are you a whore?"

"I'll answer that question if you answer my own," the women said firmly. "What's eating away at you?"

Wrestling over whether to answer the question or not, before he remembered that the contract he used to hire her ensured anything he spoke of would stay private as long as it wasn't illegal. "My actions lead to the woman I loved to be murdered, a woman who my last words to, when she still considered me a friend, were ones of hate and jealousy. Every day I'm forced to see her son in this place, sitting in the Great Hall. He has _her_ eyes, but he also has the despicable face of the man I hated with every fiber of my being…. I hate this job, teaching children who just mess about with the one remaining passion of my life; but I'm trapped here, and this seems to be my penance, my own personal hell," he spat, his emotions starting to rebel from his control from the affects of the whiskey and sex.

"No wonder you're so miserable," the high-class whore stated. "But what I said before still applies; you need to move on, get the hell out of here, start anew somewhere else. Disappear, craft a new name for yourself, and a new life where no one knows who you were before."

Nodding as he listened to her words; they did have a certain appeal, even though he knew his masters would never allow it. "So why are you a whore?"

"It pays very well and I like sex," she said easily, before looking back at him seriously. "I also have two kids to provide for and I want the best I can get for them like any mother would," this got his full attention; he would have never guessed that she was a parent, a mother of two.

"What about their father?" he asked, instinctively.

"Murdered by Death Eaters during the last war," she stated coldly, any warmth she might have had in her voice before disappearing instantly, sending alarm bells through his mind. "One of your former friends probably did it too," she said, as he covered his faded Dark Mark in shame and she grabbed some floo powder.

"I'm sorry," he stated, knowing the words were empty, automatic

"I don't want your pity," she said furiously. "I made peace with my lot in life long ago," as she threw the magical powder into the fireplace before quickly disappearing in the flames.

Downing himself another glass of brandy, before refilling the glass and downing that too, he thought about what the high price call girl had said. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed to move on, just like the headmaster had advised for the last decade, to forgive and forget, to do something about his life… But the question was how? What did he want? Lily was long dead; he needed to move on and find another girl to fill the void.

**Greengrass Manor**

Nursing his drink slowly, "You have an interesting charge, Sirius," he admitted, thinking about the young Potter heir, and finding himself truly impressed after their first meeting. His daughter had made an excellent decision in cultivating a friendship with the young heir and felt that he should continue to encourage it for the time being.

"Thank you, Nicholas," Sirius stated with a goofy grin, lounging in the padded chair. "Harry is rather unique," before sipping some more of his drink.

Thinking back to the dinner, he realized that his wife had been more focused on the budding Lord than making conversation with Sirius. He already had his suspicions on what his wife's motivations were. "I'm sorry for Cynthia's behavior Sirius, I did not expect my wife to be quite so_ direct_ with her questioning," he voiced.

"There is no need to apologize; it's to be expected given Harry's position and status," his new friend stated brushing off his wife's actions with a wave of his hand. "Several old families have already expressed interest in meeting with me to discuss the possibility of a marriage contract between Harry and their daughters."

"Oh? Who has contacted you then?" his interest stirring, wondering if any old alliances were shifting and if new battle lines were being drawn. That would be valuable information on its own.

"Lord Parkinson, Lady Zabini, Lord Patil just to name a few of the more prominent." Sirius voiced, before gulping down some more brandy. "I expect I'll receive many more in the future, since it's still rather early by most standards. Either way Harry will most likely have his pick of the most desirable young ladies in magical Britain."

'Interesting,' he mentally noted. "Have you talked to Harry about the possibility of marriage contracts?" wondering if the young lord was open to them and could strike a deal with Sirius.

"Yes, but it wasn't encouraging. Nor would I ever force one upon him. I doubt I could, even if I tried to," Sirius expressed with a sigh, this last statement taking him by surprise.

Noticing that Sirius was slightly drunk and was obviously saying more than he had intended to, he debated whether to ask more whilst his fellow Lord's defenses were down, to try to learn more about Sirius' charge. "Why do you say that? You're his magical guardian," he pressed.

"Harry is ridiculously smart and capable. He admitted to me on holiday that he already had measures in place to remove me if I was unfit," Sirius stated with a sigh, as he considered the shocking news. "Harry is very driven and independent; if he wants something, he will get it, and nothing will stand in his way… He's also a manipulative brat, who knows just what words will hurt the most and which ones will cut the deepest. What you said about the clothes and the guilds won't stop him. He will find a way; it will just take more time. We'll just be forced to watch from the sidelines in awe of him as he does what we thought impossible and somehow make it look _easy_. Any who stand against him will regret the day they attracted his attention," Sirius rambled.

"Surely you give the boy too much credit Sirius?" He decided to push forward with his interrogation at these shocking statements.

"Na, he's already got big plans in motion and has for some time, even before I was freed," Sirius expressed, his eyes closing as he buried himself deeper into the comfy armchair. "He's reopening the old Potter docks and has been buying up all the land around the site for months at bottom rate prices. Soon he'll control the whole magical alley. I looked at the figures, he already owns 85% of the area," this caused him to drop his glass in shock at what he was hearing from Sirius' lips. He had already sold _all_ of his holdings in the alley several weeks ago, and those would have been prime spots on the high street if the area was revitalized. The price was just too good, and gave him every reason to unload property in his portfolio that had been essentially worthless for over a decade and did nothing but cost him more money. Regardless of the lost opportunities, he found himself again impressed by the young Potter. He would never take it personally when someone made a good business move like that, as it was exactly what he would have done in the other's position.

"You know Nick, you don't mind if I call you Nick? Nicholas?" Sirius asked with a little giggle.

"It's fine, I like Nick," he stated eager to keep Sirius talking after the verbal 'bombarda maxima' he had just cast. "So what else is Harry doing?" His respect for the young Potter was steadily ticking up.

"Not much else, just consolidating his assets as far as I'm aware, Harry plays things pretty close to the chest," Sirius declared with a giggle, a good amount of disbelief and pride coming through; even in his drunken state that came through clearly, despite earlier calling the boy a brat. Cynthia then entered the room, her eyes quickly spotting the drunken Sirius, the disapproval in her eyes clear.

"Where's our young guest?" he asked his beautiful wife, loving her choice in outfit as the white silk hung off her body perfectly, highlighting her ample curves, diamonds hanging around her long, delicate neck. The ogling of his wife ended unceremoniously as Sirius gave a mighty snore.

"I left him with Daphne, who's giving him a tour of the manor," before kissing him lightly on his lips, sending a spark of passion through his body, stirring his desire for his wife of many years. "Maybe we should inform Harry so that he can collect his Godfather and we can _go to bed_."

"In a minute dear," his wand appearing in hand and immediately casting a silencing charm around Sirius, his wife immediately catching onto his mood as she demurely hitched her dress up and straddled herself delicately on his lap. "Sirius said that Harry wasn't interested in the idea of marriage contracts," his eyes darting over to the sleeping Lord.

"He also shared that Lord Parkinson, Lady Zabini, and Lord Patil have all requested meetings for the same reason, as well as a number of others. I have a feeling there will be _many_ more as he grows older and his sheer potential becomes more widely known," he explained to his wife.

"I was under the impression that Lord Parkinson's daughter was contracted to Lord Malfoy's son and had been for quite some time," his wife expressed, a tiny bit of surprise capable of being detected in her voice by those who knew her best. "We'll tell Daphne tomorrow. Plus I don't think plotting with clouded minds is the wisest decision my dear," his wife expressed, kissing him lightly on the lips again.

"Are you still considering the idea of canceling the marriage contract with Lady Zabini? Our mutual business partnership has been quite profitable for us," he voiced, playing the devil's advocate. "Plus that woman carries a grudge and doesn't forgive easily."

"Potter is the _much_ bigger prize and far more beneficial to us in the long-term if he and Sirius are truly going neutral politically," Cynthia advised, her lips brushing his ear. "Astoria can always replace Daphne if need be. She's more immature and lively anyway, a much better match for Blaise. Daphne's personality would utterly dominate the relationship with young Blaise and do little to benefit her," her lips curling in amusement. "With Harry as her husband, they would be an equal match, both testing and strengthening each other. The two of them would be a stronger force together, than individually. But there would be the issue of heirs to deal with. Any marriage contract between them would have to ensure that at least one of their children took up theGreengrass name, and the house stayed a separate independent body and not a client house of the Potters."

Only half listening to his beloved wife he shook his head to clear itself of the unfortunate images his wife had accidentally created; images of Daphne in a leather bodysuit with whip in hand popped into his mind, before he shook his head again desperately trying to think of something, anything, rather than his sweet daughter doing _that_. Well, maybe not that sweet… "There's more," he stated urgently, however the approaching voice of his eldest daughter along with the young lord in question stopped him from continuing. He quickly canceled the silencing charm on Sirius and Cynthia repositioned herself for propriety's sake, straightening her dress as she did so.

**Midnight Lord**

Following Daphne into the front room he saw that his godfather had passed out, sound asleep in one of the chairs. A wave of embarrassment came over him. 'Idiot' he mentally muttered as he schooled his features into a clear look of disapproval at his godfather's behavior.

Speaking up, "I apologize on behalf of my godfather," Harry stated, letting his disapproval be clearly heard, deciding to get back at Sirius for this stunt.

"It's fine," Nicholas stated, waving his hand and thus dismissing the issue, amusement clear on his face as he nursed his own drink. "It happens to everyone at some point."

"I think it's for the best that we take our leave now," Harry expressed, going into serious damage control mode after noticing Nicholas' eyes were watching him much more closely than before. _Something had happened. Something was different now. _He needed to figure out what had happened while the Lord Greengrass was alone with Sirius.

"Indeed," Cynthia agreed, as Harry spotted that her dress had shifted to one side and Nicholas' similarly ruffled outfit. Whilst he was new to the whole physical attraction for beautiful women thing, he was willing to admit privately to himself that Lady Greengrass was extremely attractive, if you could stomach the cold hearted vibes coming from her. Daphne was also on her way to being a great beauty as well.

Moving over to Sirius, he shook him roughly to wake him, "I want to sleep James," Sirius muttered.

'I'm so going to get him back for this embarrassment,' he mentally promised, already scheming his revenge, as he pulled Sirius upright, showing a surprising amount of physical strength for his small frame.

"Let me help you Harry," Nicholas offered, taking his godfather to his feet.

"Thank you. Trust me, I'll be having words with my godfather about his deplorable conduct tonight," Harry stated firmly, feeling his cheeks heat.

Walking over to the floo, Nicholas handed Sirius off to him, his godfather's arm wrapped around his shoulders like dead weight. "Harry will you and your godfather be attending the Ministry New Year's Eve Ball?" Lady Greengrass enquired, as her husband activated the floo for them, before offering some floo powder as well.

Taking some powder with his free hand, "If I can trust Sirius not to embarrass me Lady Greengrass," he voiced bitterly, struggling with his godfather's weight, but he wouldn't ask for help. He would never show weakness in front of anyone but close family and those he could trust implicitly not to take advantage.

**Ministry New Year's Eve Ball**

Noticing that his godfather had a distinct spring in his step made him a little nervous, as they walked up the carved stone path to Greystone Castle. Looking up at the imposing castle, he noticed its gothic features and many exquisitely carved gargoyles hanging from the rooftops. This castle was clearly of later construction than Hogwarts, probably around the 12th or 13th century if he had to guess. Personally, he found the castle design far too gloomy for his tastes, preferring the simpler more practical design of Hogwarts. Looking over at his godfather, memories of their previous social event surfaced. "Try _not_ to embarrass me tonight Sirius,"Harry warned, still not believing that Sirius had passed out drunk at the Greengrass'. "You're meant to be the one taking care of me, not the other way around; do you know how difficult it was carrying you through the floo?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," his godfather replied with embarrassment. "But I think you got me back enough for that; waking up snuggling with a Professor McGonagall doll was quite ingenious… I did like the purring sounds you charmed the doll to make. That was a very nice touch."

He knew his Godfather had said something to Lord Greengrass while they were alone, something important, but Sirius himself couldn't remember what he had said that evening, no matter how hard he tried. Hopefully it wasn't anything too damaging, but for now he was going to let it slide since he had no way of actually finding out what had been said, short of asking Lord Greengrass. Instead he had drilled into Sirius many times over the last couple of days to watch how much he drinks, and had taken the precaution of buying some potions to neutralize the effects of alcohol, but he knew he would be keeping a close eye on his godfather tonight and long into the future. "Let it be a warning to you; if you embarrass me tonight, you'll find yourself waking up next to the real thing," he threatened, already trying to work out how he would actually carry through on his threat. He _never_ made idle threats. 'Maybe he could ask Tonks to help with the prank? Shift her form to take on the appearance of the deputy headmistress and have her sneak into Sirius' room?' A spell shot into the sky up ahead of them, before falling down like a shooting star.

"That would be a stunt worthy of a marauder if you did," Sirius joked, his smile shifting into a mischievous grin as he too watched the falling star. "Maybe I should make that your first heir task? But instead of me, match her up with Snape. The man has probably never had a woman in his bed," mocking his school rival.

"Possibly," he answered with a smirk, happy that Sirius was back to his normal self. "But don't judge a book by its cover. For all we know, Snape could be a secret's ladies' man," although he personally found that a rather unlikely scenario; the man was just too bitter and did the man ever wash his hair? "Speaking of, I haven't seen you bedding any ladies lately Sirius. After all, you're the self proclaimed ladies' man, what happened?" teasing his godfather, while wondering what the man's reaction would be to knowing that he had already bedded a girl himself, even if there wasn't anything sexual about it, just hugging really. Or, how Sirius would react to the news that he had seen Tonks naked, spread-eagle across a desk. A pair of spells shot into the sky, before again falling back down to Earth. The Ministry was certainly trying to create an ambiance for the ball tonight, he thought.

Thinking of Penny, he wondered how her Christmas was going at her mother's and whether she liked his gift of a set of custom quills with her initials on them, hoping it was acceptable since Penny had a thing about accepting money and what she thought of as charity. That was something he simply didn't understand. After all, he had even struggled to get her to accept _her_ share of the loot after their midnight raid. This brought back a fond smile to his lips. Damn, how he missed her, only just now realizing how attached he had grown to her after almost a year of continuous friendship.

Truthfully it was kind of funny, considering the only reason he had really befriended her was to annoy Percy and get an advantage in his studies. It was the same thing that happened with Tonks, Daphne and Tracy. They had all started out as merely useful associates, as beneficial partners working together for mutual gain, but now they were real friends.

"That sounds like a challenge pup," his dogfather declared with a predatory smirk, which he immediately recognized as the warning sign for an approaching prank and ultimately embarrassment on his part. "If you _must_ know, I looked nearly half dead for the last half year. It was only recently that I have felt semi-normal again… plus _full _functionality has returned to all areas of my body, if you know what I mean," Sirius of course decided that throwing an outrageous wink at him was necessary to accompany this statement; Harry's face remained firmly behind a mask of impassivity, unwilling to show any signs that he had heard his godfather, though that was quite a struggle.

"But I'll accept your challenge anyways. After all, might as well start the new year off with a good '_bang'_" Sirius declared with boyish arrogance as several bangs went off in the night sky, seeming to emphasize Sirius' statement. "I'll even allow you to pick my quarry for the evening." He mentally recoiled at the sheer arrogance on display, whilst wondering if his own was just as bad. 'Probably worse,' he admitted, if he had Sirius baiting him on like this. They stepped up to the security checkpoint and joined the queue of couples as the trio of aurors kept watch whilst a smartly dressed man greeted them.

He leaned close to his godfather to whisper his reply, "Are you sure you don't want to add terms to this little challenge?" he asked discreetly, but the mischief was easily detectable in his voice, as he considered setting him up with a stern, ball-busting witch like Madam Bones.

Catching Sirius' look, Sirius had finally realized that his godson wouldn't likely play fair, "No married women, or underage girls, or grandmothers…" Sirius whispered back as the couple in front of them stepped forward as magical snow started to gently fall all around them, but never quite reached them. It was actually quite pretty.

"That's fair," he acknowledged in response, as they stepped forward to be acknowledged and greeted by the doorman.

"Names?" the man greeted succinctly. He was not hostile, nor warm, just purely professional in demeanor, as they handed over their wands to the aurors to be checked.

"Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black with Harry James Potter, heir to the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Black," Sirius said firmly and clearly as he had been taught from childhood and then handed over their personal invitations. The doorman's posture abruptly changed at that, his eyes taking in the elaborate family crests on their exquisite cloaks of pure acromantula silk as the auror handed them back their wands.

"The Minister extends his sincerest welcome to you both and hopes that you will greatly enjoy the evening," the Doorman expressed with a wide, fake smile, and immediately granted them entrance.

Looking around the entrance hall, grand tapestries hung from the walls, with complex patterns of different runes and colors on display, all blended together in a show of wealth and status. The marble floor was highly polished, nearly gleaming in the light, as an attractive, well dressed witch stepped up to them with another equally wide smile, just as fake as the doorman's.

"Would you allow me to take your cloaks for you sirs?" The pretty brunette witch asked.

"Yes, of course you may," Sirius acknowledged, taking his cloak off whilst Harry did the same. "Lord Black and Harry Potter." Giving her their names, so that they could retrieve them upon leaving; she then handed their cloaks to a waiting house elf who promptly disappeared with them.

"Please have a pleasant evening on the Ministry's behalf Lord Black" the hostess voiced, dismissing them as the next couple entered the entry hall.

Stepping through another set of doors into the main hall, his eyes were immediately drawn to the towering and sparkling Christmas tree, much like the one in Hogwarts' own Great Hall. However, this one was in a distinctly winter theme, with crystalline ice shards hanging from its branches and real snow fairies flying in and out of the branches at random. Then there was the massive ice star at the very top, glowing gold with seemingly limitless energy, unfortunately bringing back memories of the ambush, before he dismissed that thought with his mind magic. The aurors would have checked the place thoroughly several times in the run up to this event.

Moving his gaze away from the magical Christmas tree, he noticed the table on either side of the dance floor in the middle of the room, covered with clean white tablecloths, with equally fine silverware, however in the centre of the table there were sculptures made of ice, with magical energy glowing inside of them. The most impressive piece of ice art was in the centre of the room; right in the middle of the dance floor sat a dragon made entirely out of ice, however every so often it would arch its back and stretch its wings before bellowing out blue magical flames at the ceiling, making the nearby dancers jump in surprise. It was a truly beautiful image, the dragon made of sparkling ice, juxtaposed with the flames. The Ministry must have paid a handsome sum to the magical artist who created it. He wondered if maybe he should get the artist's name to use for his home when the time came.

He watched in awe as the flames turned to snow upon hitting the ceiling, before falling gently down on the dancers below, disappearing as soon as it touched them or the ground, as heels could be heard clicking across the dance floor.

Then there was the band at the far end of the room on an elevated stage, playing music under the watchful eye of their conductor, and with what he took to be the Minister's table at the far end; The table was separate from everyone, thus displaying the man's position as the head of the Ministry, with a massive ornate clock hanging above the table, silently ticking away, counting down the minutes to midnight and the New Year.

"Seems like the Ministry has gone all out this year. I wonder which vital department's budget this little party came out of," Sirius noted warily, with a hint of malcontent as a waiter stepped up to them, holding a silver tray full of glasses.

"Would you like a drink, Sir?"

"Yes, thank you. I have feeling this is going to be one _long_ night," Sirius muttered as the waiter genuinely smiled. Sirius took the offered drink passing it to Harry, before taking another one for himself, much to the waiter's shock, as Harry sipped some of the fine champagne. "Good stuff this year," Sirius noted.

"The Ministry always provides the best service it can and will always do its best for its citizens," the waiter replied half-heartedly, the words clearly a scripted response that they were required to use.

"Come on pup, let's go and mingle," Sirius urged, moving into the hall as a new song started, far more upbeat than the previous few. 'At least it's not the frog choir,' he noted, moving onto the floor after his godfather.

**Midnight Lord**

Listening to the newly christened Minister of Magic, as he held court, Harry played the role of young, respectful heir perfectly as he listened to the elder politician explain his political career, clearly loving the fact that Harry was so clearly interested as he listed off the various political offices he once held, and the bills the man had engineered on his way to the top… Harry concluded one thing, the man was _vain_ and liked far too much having people around him who catered to his enormous ego. He could prove easily manipulated if one pressed the right buttons as he silently watched Lord Malfoy masterfully stroke the man's ego. He also noticed that the Minister had expensive tastes based on the jewelry the man wore, and was clearly a womanizer he concluded, after seeing Fudge's eyes discreetly wander a number of times over the course of the discussion to take a look at a few of the Lord's wives, his hands wandering just a tiny bit whenever he greeted a couple, but never enough to call him on it.

"Yes, yes, Lord Newbury, the Ministry is doing everything in its power to get to the bottom of the Chamber of Secrets business," Fudge stated. "Hopefully, it will all be sorted out by the start of the new school year; your son shall be perfectly safe, I assure you."

"That's reassuring, Minister," he voiced, speaking up for the first time and attracting the groups' attention. Before this he had been content to merely play the dutiful listener in the group and had not yet actually spoken to the Minister.

"Do I know you, my boy? Where's your guardian?" the Minister asked, whilst the group looked at him questioningly, clearly wondering who he belonged to.

"Harry James Potter, Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Black," he said evenly, noticing the Minister's demeanor change in an instant upon hearing his position. The group around them now paying just a bit more attention than they had previously. "My guardian, Lord Black, is conducting business," answering both questions succinctly. "So Minister, has the Ministry made any progress in finding my parents' betrayer?" he challenged.

"Unfortunately not, my dear boy, but where are my manners? Cornelius _Fudge, Minister of Magic," offering his hand in introduction._

_He took care to shake the hand quite firmly, "Pleasure to meet you Minister Fudge," Harry greeted back._

_"You have a good grip there, ___my Boy___," the minister expressed, flexing his hand discreetly once their hands had separated. "Are you enjoying yourself tonight?" the aging politician asked, clearly trying to judge Harry._

_"Yes, if one doesn't mind the constant politics," he expressed, catching the groups' attention at his reply. It was strange to them that such a young child would even be aware of it going on. "So what progress has the Ministry made in catching the individual responsible for the Chamber of Secrets? My classmates would be comforted by the knowledge that it was all under control and that they can rest easily now."_

_"We have a suspect; the aurors are just gathering the necessary evidence to make an arrest," the Minister said before sipping some of his drink. "However, we're considering deploying the_ dementors to Hogwarts to guard the grounds against your parents' betrayer," as one the group shivered unconsciously at the mention of the dark creatures. He was not one of them. "It was Madam Umbridge's idea actually," gesturing over to the Undersecretary, who was wearing a pink ball gown, and seemed to be basking in the impromptu praise and temporary spotlight. "We're just waiting for the Headmaster's permission."

"Interesting idea," he offered, whilst his mind just flashed red warning lights, after hearing Sirius' stories of the foul beasts and his own research into the soul consuming creatures. "But isn't that a bit dangerous? What happens if a student is attacked by chance and is fed upon? I can't see parents being happy about having soul consuming creatures of darkness so near to their precious children, especially considering the only charm known that is effective against them is NEWT level at best and even then many still can't perform it effectively in a dementor's presence," several of the listening adults muttered similar thoughts in agreement to his observation, as Fudge paled.

"It was just an idea, I assure you," Fudge assured everyone listening, the politician backtracking quickly in the face of actual opposition, as Madam Umbridge suddenly looked far less cheerful and quickly stepped away from the group all together before slipping into the crowd unnoticed, before someone called her out on her dreadful idea.

"That's comforting," he expressed, sipping his own drink, as a cameraman suddenly appeared out of nowhere, followed quickly by his reporter Rita, taking him by surprise at her unexpected appearance as she had practically begged to be allowed to do her own thing this evening. His mind magic ensured that none of his surprise was visible.

"Do you mind if we take some pictures Minister?" Rita cooed, flipping her blonde hair in hand, as the cameraman stepped forward, taking another picture without asking or waiting.

"Of course not, Miss Skeeter," Fudge responded quickly, already moving into position and clapping Harry on the shoulder like a grandfather figure.

Several minutes passed as a series of photos were taken, before Rita suddenly left them, withdrawing back into the crowd. "Let me give you some advice my boy," Minister Fudge urged, patting him on the shoulder in the same grandfatherly type of way, turning him around to look out on the floor and then discreetly pointing out his reporter, dressed in the same tasteful red ball-gown he had seen her in only a couple of nights ago.

"That woman there, the reporter, Miss Skeeter, is nothing but a headache. Nothing short of a parasite, if you ask me. Mind her quill, she has destroyed the careers and lives of many fine, promising individuals with it. Stay on her good side."

"Thank you for the advice, Minister. I will certainly take it to heart." Harry expressed seriously, fighting off the urge to chuckle at the Minister's advice and warning about _his_ reporter. "I'll be extra mindful when dealing with her."

"You're welcome, my _Boy_." He again patted him on the shoulder, which seemed to be his signature move when dealing with younger people. At least he hoped so…an equal opportunity lecher was not desirable considering how often he'd be forced to deal with the insufferable man. "Please enjoy the rest of the ball," dismissing him, as several other prominent guests approached the Minister.

He left the Minister with a genuine smile forming on his features; he was sure that he had made a positive impression on the man. That would serve his interests well. He was half tempted to check on Sirius to make sure his godfather was behaving himself, but he had more pressing matters, like Rita…. Walking over to the feared reporter, he quite enjoyed the feeling of power he had at controlling the woman the very Minister of Magic feared.

He approached the reporter who seemed to be hovering nearby, discreetly waiting for him. "Miss Skeeter, what an unexpected pleasure? I must say that you look exquisite this evening, the color red really suits you" he observed, playing the role of 'charming young Lord,' whilst silently asking the question of why she was here and not with her boyfriend Malcolm like she had wanted.

"My…" she started, stopping herself in mid sentence from saying 'My Lord,' in such a public venue. When he took up his Lordship publically, it wouldn't matter anymore; people would just assume that she was using his correct title. "Mr. Potter," Rita amended, while quickly regrouping. "It is a pleasure to see you again," Rita answered, almost purring, "I'm with Witch Weekly tonight, not the Daily Prophet."

"Oh, what is Witch Weekly's interest here tonight?" he enquired, wondering what the gossip magazine wanted.

"This is a rather big social event, Harry. So many new couples, so many custom made outfits, so many single men and women to learn more about, such as yourself and your godfather, the Lord Black," Rita voiced. "So much gossip to be had, a reporter's dream come true… who will get with who tonight? Who will get drunk and start a scene?" as her eyes scanned the room, before resting on him again. "Do you mind giving an interview? My editor will be most pleased if I did and I'm sure it will be positive."

Looking around the hall, he liked the idea of getting some good publicity. It could only help him as his various business projects came together. "Of course, my dear, as long as it is quick and you go easy on me. The Minister is quite scared of you, you know," agreeing to her request. Her lips curled up in amusement at his remark about the new Minister fearing her.

"Trust me Harry, you're in excellent hands," the infamous reporter assured, leading the way across the Hall towards an empty table, idly noting that the ice sculpture was of an owl with a paper, so clearly this was designated as the reporters' table. Lowering himself into a nearby chair, he noticed how comfortable it was even with its rigid design, as a cushion suddenly appeared supporting his back perfectly for his height and stature. He crossed his legs and placed his hands on his lap as he mentally prepared for the interview, even if he knew that he would be visiting Rita in the next few days to look over the article for himself despite the oaths placed upon her. Her quill appeared, signaling the interview had begun.

"Harry? Can I call you Harry?" Rita asked, acting the part of a simpering reporter eager to make their interviewee comfortable and thus share more than they had intended to.

"As long as I can call you Rita," he replied easily, as several people walked by and easily recognized what was going on, attracting even more interest from Britain's most powerful families. The young Potter-Black heir would be the topic of conversation in many Manor homes in Great Britain over the next few days.

The next couple of minutes passed in a veritable deluge of questions on everything from the tailor he used tonight, to his favorite hobbies and subjects at school, to his life goals and ambitions, what it was like living with his godfather, and how he felt being his heir. No sooner had he answered one question that another one was asked. After a good ten minutes of questioning, his virtual interrogation came to an end.

"Thank you for your time Harry," She cooed, the notepad seemingly disappearing into her small handbag. "Now I just need to find your godfather, then my editor will be most pleased."

"You're welcome Rita, I trust that you'll have a productive evening," he offered, as well reminding her of her secondary job for him since she was already here.

Leaving the reporter to her own mischief, he noticed how she immediately headed in the Minister's direction with her cameraman in tow. He could already see Fudge was going to get an interview he would never forget from the reporter. Picking up his glass and sipping its contents, he enjoyed how the bubbles popped and fizzed on his tongue. He scanned the room, but unfortunately, due to his height, he was rather unsuccessful in spotting his Godfather.

Moving around the hall in a clockwise search pattern looking for his godfather, he expected to find him at one of the many tables talking to someone, probably a beautiful witch… Looking around the Hall, he still hadn't spotted anyone suitable to set Sirius upon to fulfill the challenge. He then spotted Madam Bones standing in a corner talking to a fellow auror. 'Maybe,' he thought with a grin.

During his search he came across Neville standing rigidly next to his grandmother, his robes straight and pressed, almost standing at military attention as his grandmother spoke to another couple. His eyes, though, gave him away, showing that he was thoroughly bored and utterly uninterested in the ongoing discussion. Nodding politely and silently to Neville as he went past, the bored second year returned the gesture with his own respectful nod to Harry, before turning his attention back to the discussion. 'It's a shame he can't always be like that,' he noted, as he continued his search for his errant Godfather, spotting Draco in the distance lurking next to his father, his strikingly beautiful mother standing nearby, acting both stuck up and superior, just like her husband.

Nodding to a couple of acquaintances from Hogwarts that he recognized, he continued walking around the hall, but did not stop to chat since they were all in the upper years, before finally spotting someone of interest to him, though whether it was Padma or Parvati, he couldn't tell at this distance. Finishing off his glass of champagne, he left it on a nearby table for a waiter to collect rather than carry it around with him.

Looking over her Indian style gown, he found it quite striking, its rich bright colours easily standing out amongst the other more mundane outfits around them. 'Damn, she's cute' he noted, already seeing that the twins were well on their way to looking like their extremely beautiful mother.

**Midnight Lord**

'I _hate_ these events,' she mentally complained while looking over at her twin, who looked back at her in silent agreement, almost reading her thoughts in a way that only a magical twin could truly do. Why couldn't her father just leave the pair of them at home to their own devices, or allow them to go to a friend's house for the evening, rather than dragging them around like prize cattle on display.

Looking over her shoulder at the hanging magical clock above the stage, she saw that it wasn't even 9 o'clock yet.

She resisted the urge to yawn valiantly, as it would only bring looks of disapproval from both her parents and their friends, followed quickly by a lengthy lecture as soon as they got home on what constituted proper behavior in public.

Feeling a light tap on her shoulder she quickly spun around, noticing her sister in motion as well out of the corner of her eye, just to be greeted by the welcome sight of her best friend, Harry. After all, her twin sister didn't count as a 'friend,' she was automatically ranked first by default. "Ladies, Padma, Pav," getting their names right seemingly effortlessly, just like he did every time they met. She and her sister were still trying to work out how he did it, as even their parents got confused between them sometimes, but Harry never did.

"Harry," they both said in unison, looking at each other in amusement before her twin spoke up for the both of them. "You look nice this evening Harry," voicing her own opinion as well, although she felt that that was a bit of an understatement. She had immediately taken notice of the forming muscles on his arms and chest beneath the fine, midnight black, acromantula silk shirt, with matching trousers and polished shoes. The ensemble did wonders to make his mesmerizing eyes stand out even more by the simple style of clothing, even if it all was of the finest quality. Then there was the ever-present silver chain hanging visibly around his neck, thanks to the two top bottoms of his shirt being undone, with the all too familiar ring she always saw him wearing around the school. Many of the girls thought that it was some type of token from his late mother, but none dared ask him as it seemed terribly private and personal.

However, the style suited him well; it was a simple, refined look that said, 'I have no need to boast or show off.' Something like that could only come from great self confidence in one's abilities, and helped showcase his strongest and most attractive feature, his bright emerald eyes, which seemed to pulse with magical power. She knew his eyes quite literally held power; she knew full well that in time Harry would be able to simply meet a person's gaze and see their thoughts, their secrets, their deepest desires… a mental shiver went through her at that, but it was _not_ of fear. Then there was his hair, which seemed to be styled more in the windswept fashion of professional Quidditch players. 'Like a lion's mane,' as her sister would put it, whenever they discussed with Lavender and Sally Anne which boys were the hottest of Hogwarts. Already there was a list of sorts that Lavender had created ranking the male population of their year, with Harry undeniably being the hottest, with Neville a distant second on the account the boy still had baby fat, quite unlike Harry.

"Thank you Pav, both of you look lovely this evening," offering them a heart-stopping smile, then taking her sister's hand and giving it a soft kiss, before doing the same to her, causing her to blush, but this was thankfully hidden by her dark skin. She knew that the charm was just as much an act as a real gesture, but it was the fact that her friend _could_ be so charming when he wanted to be that intensified his already considerable appeal.

"Would either of you lovely ladies care to dance?" he asked, taking them both by surprise at the question, before they both looked at each other and silently communicated again, 'Sweet Merlin, he can dance too?!' They both moved him up another notch on the Hogwarts' hottest male list.

However, before she could say 'yes!' her sister beat her to the punch. "Sure Harry," offering her hand to him. "Just don't tread on my toes," her jealously flared spectacularly at her sister's sheer nerve. Harry was _hers_!

"Don't worry Pav, your feet are quite safe with me," Harry said confidently with another of those ridiculously distracting smiles, before looking over to her and somehow sensing her annoyance. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes for your turn next, if you'll have me," before giving her a roguish wink, as if she would really deny him. "You get two dances, since your sister got the first one."

"Its fine," she offered, waving them on, before Harry pulled her younger sister away towards the dance floor, the dragon spitting out more blue flames. She already knew she wasn't going to be talking to her sister for the rest of the evening and probably a good part of tomorrow as well.

Just then her mother appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, "Where is your sister going?"

"To dance with Harry," she voiced, almost bitterly, at being beaten to saying yes.

"Your sister beat you to answering 'yes' first then," her mother said with a good amount of amusement, clearly having heard the whole exchange, and was just teasing her now.

"Yes," she stated, trying not to sound like a petulant child who had just lost their favorite toy.

"Well, you get two dances now, don't you?" her mother voiced with even more amusement at the incident. "Just think of it this way, she's warming him up for you," causing her to smile at the idea. "Feeling better?"

She nodded her head at feeling better; the idea of her sister being the 'warm up' was much more palatable. "As long as she doesn't kiss him," she voiced, watching as the pair moved around on the ballroom floor.

There was truly no elaborate dancing taking place; it was basic, but graceful. It was ultimately the gesture that counted the most and that meant something to her, especially at his age where boys didn't often offer to dance with girls so readily. A couple minutes later she spotted Draco and Pansy joining Harry and her sister on the dance floor, but looking far more stiff and uncertain as they moved around. Knowing that they had had far more training as pureblood scions than Harry had ever had spoke well for his skill and natural talent at dancing. However both pairs were outshone in skill when Daphne stepped onto the dance floor, with Blaise following dutifully behind her, the young couple easily moving about the dance floor like they had been doing it expertly for years…and they likely had.

**Midnight Lord**

Damn, was he enjoying himself, in fact far more than he had expected as he had spent the last hour and a half dancing with the twins around the dance floor, taking turns with each of them. After all, it was better than standing around listening to old politicians talking about various bills and laws that he had no understanding of. "Harry, I've been looking all over for you!" his godfather exclaimed, taking a seat next to Harry at the table.

"I've just been dancing, but before that I was actually looking for you too Sirius," he offered casually. "Please let me introduce you to Lord and Lady Patil," gesturing formally to the pair sitting across the table. "And these two beautiful ladies are their daughters, Parvati and Padma." Each twin nodding in turn with a small smile as their name came up. "This is my Godfather and Guardian, Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black." He finished the introductions as formally as he could, given the unusual nature of Sirius' entrance.

"Good evening, sorry about table crashing," his godfather offered favoring them with a boyish smile. "It's good to see you again Lord Patil, have you had a good Christmas?" he asked, as the band started playing a new song, this time with a singer.

"Yes, it's good to have my daughters back home with us for the holidays," the Indian Lord expressed with a smile, looking at both his daughters with pride and love in his eyes. "Have you considered the proposal I've made?"

It took several seconds for his godfather to respond, so clearly the question and subject was important enough that it needed to be addressed correctly or else great insult might be caused. "I have, but I do not believe the time is quite right to make such choices. Perhaps in a couple of years we can revisit the matter," Sirius answered back cryptically.

"Of course," Lord Patil offered, not seeming too upset that whatever business proposal he had offered was shot down, at least temporarily it seemed; he just accepted it with a smile as if it had been expected all along. "We all want to get the best deal we can."

Seeing the opening he needed to speak up, he turned to his godfather, "So Sirius? Why were you looking for me?" wondering what had gotten his knickers in a twist all of a sudden, since he had seen his godfather several times whilst dancing and chatting up many ladies of different ages.

"I didn't know where you were and just wanted to make sure that you were safe," Sirius offered as a reasonable explanation. "Plus I wanted to introduce you to someone."

He nodded his head in understanding, "Excuse me please, it seems that I'm required elsewhere," after giving his apologies to Lord and Lady Patil and their two daughters, he left with Sirius. Seeing the disappointed looks on the twins' faces, Parvati the easier to read of the pair, he offered a compromise, "Hopefully, there will be time for a couple more dances later this evening."

"Bye Harry," the Twins cooed together, before giggling between themselves.

As soon as they were out of hearing range, Sirius erupted with joy. "_Twins_ Harry? How ambitious of you! Your father would be so proud right now," grinning like the maniac he was, attracting several looks as they walked past. "Now, have you considered my quarry for tonight?" sweeping his arm around the hall.

"Honestly Sirius, I just said it to get you riled up, but if you insist," his lips quirking with amusement. "Madam Umbridge needs a good snog and a 'banging' as you put it," watching in amusement as his godfather's face rebelled at the mention of the Senior Undersecretary. "I did rather publically embarrass her earlier, it's only fair _you_ make her feel better," grinning with mischief at the very thought.

"What did you do?" Sirius enquired, desperately trying to change the subject and rid his mind of the horrifying images it had conjured up.

"Well, the Minister told a small crowd of listeners that dementors were going to be deployed to Hogwarts and then gave credit to her in front of half a dozen people. I spoke up and pointed out how utterly stupid the very idea was of having soul consuming monsters right next to a school full of defenseless kids," Harry expressed with a smirk. "The Minister did what every politician does when he realized how unpopular that idea would make him and promptly made a U-Turn on the spot. It was rather funny to watch," he admitted.

"Good, I hope you never meet the dementors," Sirius expressed soberly, taking a champagne glass from a passing waiter.

"I hope you're being careful with much you drink tonight Sirius," Harry observed, giving Sirius _a look _that promised untold pain if he wasn't.

"Yes, I am, _mother_," Sirius retorted. "Sometimes I wonder who the adult is out of the two of us. I even have the potions you gave me in my pocket if need be; besides, this late in the evening they've already started watering down the drinks," shaking his head. "What happened at the Greengrass' was an accident and won't happen again Harry. I'm really sorry, I just didn't realize how much the whiskey and wine together would affect me. I forgot a simple rule, don't mix drinks."

"So do you accept Umbridge or do you forfeit?" Harry asked, not allowing himself to be distracted by his godfather.

"Harry, be reasonable, no man should have to do… _that!" _his godfather whined, very similar to a dog, before deploying the age old puppy dog eyes trick.

"All right," he said, allowing his Godfather off the hook. "Madam Bones then," mentioning the ball busting head of magical law enforcement.

"Are you trying to get me thrown back in jail?" Sirius exclaimed.

"If I was trying to get you thrown into jail, I would have said to her, you were flirting with her niece," Harry countered with a cunning smile. "You should have been more specific when it came to terms earlier Sirius," Harry advised, seeing his godfather sober up at his remark.

"How about this for a deal… you allow me to pick my prey tonight, since you clearly don't know how to play this game," Harry's lips quirked at this, listening to Sirius' offer. "In exchange I'll give you an easy first heir task, something you can do tonight on the spot."

He smiled at the offer, realizing he could score an early lead, "I'm interested," nodding his head, signaling his agreement to the bargain. "But you will have to provide proof of your sexual conquest, either a picture, or an undergarment, but preferably a picture," he grinned lewdly for a moment, before stopping abruptly, noting that the champagne was undermining his own judgment and letting his hormones get away from him.

"Now you're playing _the_ game," Sirius cheered, looking much better at Harry's terms. "You, my chosen heir, will have to get both those lovely twins to kiss you at midnight on the lips… it doesn't have to be with tongue, or anything fancy, since you're new to this game, but it has to be on the lips… if you can't, however, you've either got to wait until next year and try again on midnight, or steal the head girl's knickers at Hogwarts, with her badge and photo for proof."

It didn't even take him a second to decide, he knew he could do this considering that both Pav and Pad had already been trying to steal kisses from him while dancing throughout the night. "Done," offering his hand to Sirius to shake on it and seal their agreement.

"Done," he replied, shaking his hand in agreement, his godfather smiling wickedly before giving Harry a quick toast with his champagne glass, just before disappearing into the crowd. "Good hunting Harry."

Watching his godfather vanish, he quickly concluded that Sirius had already chosen his prey for the night and had actually played him rather well after seeing Harry with the twins. Looking up at the magical clock slowly building with energy as its hands slowly turned, he saw that he still had roughly an hour and a half till midnight, thus plenty of time to get the twins on board with the idea of a midnight kiss with him. 'Maybe I should say it's a good luck thing?' he mused. "Harry," the all too familiar voice of Daphne could be heard, bringing him out of his scheming.

He smiled automatically at seeing his friend again, even though he had just seen her on the dance floor dragging Blaise around. "Daphne, you look lovely this evening," he complimented and was rewarded, in turn, with a beautiful smile from the cold heiress in her ball gown of white acromantula silk, with a fur trim, clearly going for the winter queen look that her mother had long ago perfected in daily life.

"You don't look so bad yourself Harry," Daphne expressed. "How was dancing with the twins? They seemed to be enjoying themselves this evening."

His genuine smile could have answered for him, but he decided to give voice to his emotions. "Fun, and thank you for the dance lessons, otherwise I'd have been treading on their toes like a three legged troll," he expressed, his smile never fading.

"Three legged troll, that's a new one," the Heiress expressed, her lips curling with amusement. "So are you going to offer me a dance? I did spend my free time over the last couple of days teaching you."

"Of course, how rude of me," offering his arm to his friend. "Forgive me for not asking earlier, but I _thought _Blaise would be busy keeping you too entertained to have time to dance with another," he apologized, while already guiding her to the dance floor. "I must confess, though, that I promised the twins another dance or two."

"That's fine; I just wanted to have one dance with you this evening." As they stepped onto the dance floor, Harry's hands automatically slipped gently to the correct positions, one on her waist, the other holding her hand, as they started to twist and turn in time with the music. Harry took the lead and successfully navigated them around the other couples with even more grace than he'd shown during their lessons. The added practice tonight and his enjoyment of the evening had granted him a bit more confidence and experience, which came through in his more skillful dancing.

"Much better Harry," Daphne praised as they moved.

"What can I say? I'm a fast learner and had an amazing teacher," he bragged with a boyish smile, which wouldn't have been out of place on Sirius' face as Daphne shook her head in amusement, her silky blonde locks dancing as Harry pulled them out of the path of another couple.

"You know, Pansy is actually sending us jealous looks." the slytherin teased as they moved around the floor, changing direction in time with the music, before the singer started again. This time the vocals were in Latin. Unfortunately, he was unable to understand the song's words since his Latin was rather limited at the moment and still firmly in the development stages…

"I don't know why, she's here with Draco, isn't she," Harry replied, not caring much at all about the couple as they moved, enjoying the moment rather than souring it by giving the other couple a whit more attention then they merited.

"Yes, but Draco is ignoring her, in favor of his goons," her lips twitching in amusement at this, "you should be a gentlemen and offer her a dance." Harry spun her around to surreptitiously get a better look at Draco, noticing the Malfoy heir was talking to Crabbe and Goyle instead of his date, the former having just scratched his bum with a rather put out looking Pansy nearby.

"I'd much rather spend the time dancing with you my dear, or the Twins, but preferably you," he said sincerely, getting another rare smile from his often reserved dance partner. "You're not trying to kiss me every minute of the dance, not that I mind the idea of those kisses, but I'd rather not have them fighting over me…" he offered, but nonetheless finding it rather flattering that the twins were competing for him; now _that_ was certainly an ego boost.

"I suppose that could be an issue," Daphne observed casually, as the Twins spotted them on the floor. "Consider it repayment for the dance lessons," causing his lips to twitch, his smile growing at the statement. "Plus Pansy will owe me one if I get you to dance with her; she will never admit it, but she loves the attention and the spotlight, and that is almost assured with you given the attention you've been receiving tonight. Plus it gives you a chance to embarrasses or annoy Draco whilst appearing to be the perfect gentlemen coming to a lady's obvious distress. If Draco creates a scene over it, he loses face and so does his family. There are few downsides to it really." The Ice dragon bellowed more blue flames.

Thinking over the proposal carefully, he found that it did have some merits, but it limited his time with the Twins and could risk failing the first task if the Twins thought he had chosen Pansy over them. "How about this for a counteroffer. My godfather has set me the task of stealing a kiss from both Pad and Pav on the strike of midnight; he said that it was a tradition that he and my father had started to celebrate the New Year off with a kiss for good luck." He decided it was in his best interest to leave the 'banging' part out. "So how about you go talk to the twins and mention the 'family tradition' and say that it came up in conversation when I was dancing with you. Then mention how if both of them gave me a kiss, it would double the luck and explain that I'm just dancing with Pansy to wind Draco up. In exchange, I'll go and charm Pansy and mention how you sent me over to dance with her."

He watched as Daphne considered the deal for a moment, "Fair enough," she agreed, before breaking away and heading over to the twins to uphold her end of the deal, as Harry's eyes of their own accord tracked her movement. 'Damn hormones.'

Embracing the music, he made his way over to the table, going totally unnoticed by the group of boys, however Pansy seemed to bolt upright when she saw him approaching her. He gave her a wink as he approached to break the ice a bit and saw the first shades of rosy red flare up on her cheeks. 'Daphne was right it seems,' he mused, as he stepped up to the group. "Miss Parkinson, may I have this dance?" his question was accompanied by offering his hand to the disgruntled second year, who was clearly considering the idea seriously. Her date for the evening finally took notice of what was happening, his face quickly changing shades as Pansy placed her silk gloved hand in his own.

"I would like that Mr. Potter," accepting his invitation formally, as she rose from her seat, her eyes sparkling prettily, much like the Christmas decorations. He escorted her to the dance floor, her hand still lightly in his, before his hand slipped gently to her hip as they joined the group of dancers. "Miss Parkinson, you look very nice this evening," he offered, not finding the girl attractive or anything, just paying the girl a respectful compliment.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," she replied with a smile. "Black suits you; it truly brings out your emerald eyes. And by chance alone, they compliment my gown nicely."

"Indeed, your gown is most flattering," he expressed. "Have you been having an enjoyable evening?" he asked, trying to make polite conversation as they moved to the song.

"It has been passable," she offered back, not going into detail about her feelings, even if Harry knew that she was excited to be dancing with him now, as they moved around the dance floor. Their eyes made contact again, as he pulled Pansy just slightly closer as they came into view of a red-faced Draco.

As soon as they were out of sight of Draco, Pansy suddenly spoke up and asked her own question. "So, do I have Daphne to thank for this impromptu dance?" the slytherin asked.

He grinned at her remark, "She thought that you might need saving from boredom, and I just happened to agree," he voiced.

"Well thank you for saving me," she responded, before pressing closer still to him. "This also wouldn't happen to have the benefit of annoying Draco would it?" Pansy voiced quietly having sensed his motives, before quickly pulling out of his personal space.

"Ah, you caught me," he replied easily, grinning unrepentantly as a new song started.

"I thought that might be the case," she voiced before quickly adding, "Notnot that I'm complaining though."

"Good," he said firmly, spinning her around like the adult couples around them. "Now you can say to Draco, if he should ignore you again tonight, 'I think I'll find Harry for another dance,'" he offered causally. "Or perhaps 'Harry's such an amazing dancer, don't you think Draco?' and I'm sure he will try very hard to correct that belief," Pansy's lips curled in amusement at the silliness of these suggestions.

"How considerate of you, Harry" she offered using his first name for the first time.

"You're very welcome, Pansy," smiling back at her, as they continued to move gracefully around the dance floor. "One more dance should do it, I think; he should have stewed enough by then that he'll be much more attentive this evening," he observed after taking a quick glance at Draco after turning Pansy around, Pansy smiling as he turned her and ensuring Draco caught her smile. Draco would know that _he_ was the reason for it, before deciding to raise the stakes even more by dipping her after growing more confident in his movements.

He then saw Rita and her cameraman circling the floor, taking pictures of the dancers. He directed Pansy over into their vicinity, "Get ready to smile," he advised, his voice laced with mischief as he looked over at the reporter and her dutiful follower, getting her attention and mouthing 'picture.' His intentions clear to Rita.

"Why?" Pansy asked confused by his words.

Grinning, "Because, we're about to make Witch Weekly," he moved her around so that she could see the cameraman readying his camera, as Rita pointed them out. Not giving Pansy a chance to back out, he spun her around again, before dipping her in front of the camera, the flash going off, before pulling her upright again and moving back around the floor.

"I think we made for a good picture," he expressed. "It should be a good gossip piece for the magazine."

"You know, that picture could cause me trouble with my parents," Pansy expressed warily.

"What for? Charming a dual heir of two ancient households?" his lips quirking in amusement. "Your parents would probably reward you," he responded, a sly smile forming on her face following his reasoning. "Besides, I requested a dance, you graciously granted me one, just as they taught you; you had no idea the reporter was there or that pictures were being taken, you can claim."

"Now I see why Daphne is friends with you. You're not too bad for a Ravenclaw," Pansy complimented him as the song came to an end.

"Thank you," he said, taking it as the compliment it was meant to be. "It will also give you something to often remind Draco of this evening. Something to casually mention whenever he is a jerk to you." He let go of her hand and waist, before raising her hand up to his lips and giving her silk covered hand a gentle kiss. "Have a wonderful evening Miss Parkinson."

"You too, Mr. Potter," she replied formally, if not a bit stiffly, but the smile gave her away, as well as the amusement in her eyes as he pulled away turning on the spot and then began heading over to the twins, already sensing a pair of eyes tracking him. Considering the dance as he moved towards the twins, he wondered how it would turn out; would it be like Penny and Percy? The relationship he had intentionally sabotaged? Or would Draco wise up and pay much more attention to his girlfriend and betrothed? Regardless, perhaps he could cultivate a discreet and secret friendship with Pansy in the back rooms of Hogwarts? He'd have to think more on that.

Noticing the scheming smile on his face as he approached, the two sisters seemed to have made up in his absence as he took a seat at the table, "I'm back ladies, did you miss me terribly?" he jokingly asked, feeling rather confident after all the dancing and champagne he had enjoyed during the evening.

"Of course, Harry," the twins chimed in unison with smiles on their faces.

'Damn, now that's impressive' he thought, while trying to work out how they got it down quite so perfectly, wondering if they shared a mental connection or something…

"Did you enjoy dancing with Pansy?" Pav asked with a grin.

Deciding to tread carefully, he followed Sirius' advice when dealing with women. "Yes, even more so while watching Draco go red faced during the dance, but she just can't compare to you two," giving the girls a real compliment. He felt rather bold and empowered from his successes tonight, "Nor is she as pretty as you two girls; the whole tomboy haircut just doesn't work for her," his compliments were rewarded with a pair of smiles. "I think I prefer long hair as well," he offered to the pair after thinking about it. "Now who's up for some more dancing?"

"How can you keep going? You've been dancing for hours?" Padma asked for the pair.

"I brought a pepper-up potion with me on Sirius' advice; however I'll be drained tomorrow because of it. I'll be buzzing with energy for another 3 hours at least, as long as I don't do any magic…" he explained to the tired girls. "So who wants to go first?"

"Padma, you're first," Pav voiced, beckoning her sister to take the first dance.

"Thank you sis," she answered, taking his hand in her own.

Over the next hour an half the trio danced together, the magical clock slowly ticking down to midnight, its hands steadily glowing with energy as they danced. The ice dragon's flames started to shift as midnight approached, turning from blue to a warmer red, the magical snowflakes transforming to sparkles as they danced around the floor with the other couples, several times leading the girls past Rita so she could take a snapshot of them together for the magazine.

Finally the constant music playing throughout the night ended with the Minister of Magic stepping up onto platform where the band had been playing all evening. The hall grew quiet as the politician launched into his obviously prewritten speech, reading off what appeared to be note cards. However, what surprised him the most was the appearance of the headmaster, whom he hadn't seen all evening, standing in the background, listening intently to the Minister's speech about the last year in magical Britain, and his hopes for the coming year. Unfortunately for the Minister, his speech was cut short as the magical clock glowed even brighter, building with energy before fading out of existence, leaving a rapidly declining pair of numbers counting down from 60. At the same time the Dragon moved, leaning back on its hind legs, its mouth open and glowing with energy.

Looking over at the Twins, who had stepped to either side of him, both shared a look between them as the magical numbers shifted colours, from bronze to silver to finally gold, before the hall took a collective breath. He felt two pairs of arms wrap around his waist.

"10!" went up the collective cry, "9!" the whole hall starting to count down the seconds, "8!", "7!" "6!" "5!" "4!" at this he turned to Padma, knowing his best mate should rightfully be first, as she steadily looked back at him, "3!" "2!" "1!" "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Padma shot forward at this, pressing her lips against his, suddenly feeling the hot and soft press of her lips moving on his, the unfamiliar sensation running through him, as he returned the kiss, before Padma pulled away. A hand pulled him in the other direction, before another pair of soft lips met his own, just as hot and lovely, but at the same time different, more forceful. "Happy New Year Harry!" Sirius shouted in the background, as the kiss ended, Sirius grinning at him.

"Happy New Year girls," he said pulling them each into himself and hugging them each with an arm around their shoulders, before looking over at Sirius again to see him quite busy kissing a pretty brunette witch. "Happy New Year Sirius!" he shouted, wondering if he was even heard over all the noise, whilst out of the ice dragon's mouth emerged flames of silver and gold before they transformed into hundreds of animals that came running around the guests.

'This is the way to start the New Year,' he thought, an unusually large and genuine smile on his still tingling lips.

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note:**

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that this satisfies everyone's desire for substantive plot developments, growth of the magical world and the paced development of characters. And of course, how Harry discovered that he was a parselmouth, so **coldblue **you can stop asking now** lol.**

Please check out my profile and vote on which school you think Harry should go to in the student exchange program I'm going to write about for Harry's third year. I repeat, please vote so that I know which you guys would prefer, and feel free to suggest story ideas for Harry's overseas travels.


	33. Y2 Back to School

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 33: Back to School**

**Posted 17th May 2013**

**Revised and****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

"Good afternoon Lord Black, Mr. Potter," the Headmaster said in greeting as they entered his office in turn. "May I ask why you requested this meeting? Surely you have better things to do at this time of the year than meet with an old man?"

Getting straight down to business, "We'll keep this short," Sirius said firmly as he took the lead in the conversation. "It has come to my attention that the Ministry is still thinking of deploying dementors to Hogwarts, despite how ridiculously bad an idea that actually is," at this the headmaster nodded sadly, confirming the information.

"Sadly, that is correct. The Minister wants to be seen to be 'doing something' about this heir business and the _attempts_ on both Harry and Neville's life. He believes the dementors will be an effective deterrent against both. However, so far I have managed to persuade the Minister that it would be both counterproductive and highly unpopular amongst the parents and his constituents," offering them a half smile at his victory.

"Well, Harry here has come up with a possible solution to the issue," Sirius stated, gesturing over to him.

"Has he really?" the Headmaster offered in delight, as he looked over at him, his eyes sparkling with new energy.

He nodded to this, "Indeed, it is a much simpler solution and far less dangerous for all concerned," Harry offered with a smile. "I have to admit, I'm surprised you haven't thought of it already, Headmaster."

"Really? Do tell, dear boy," the Headmaster pushed, looking even more cheerful.

"Kneazles," he stated simply with a grin, seeing no need to explain it any further. While the Headmaster had done some terrible things to him personally, there was no value in denying the plain truth, the man was brilliant.

"Kneazles," the headmaster repeated, the word rolling off his old tongue easily as a small smile formed on his face, before suddenly laughing at the suggestion. "That is a rather ingenious solution," the elder wizard stated.

"Thank you," Harry said in acknowledgement. "Say Hogwarts requires a couple dozen; they can act as loving pets for lower years to handle, especially first years, who may feel a bit homesick. You could set up a course or club, imaginatively called 'kneazles,' if you like, to act as a basic introductory course to familiarize first-generation magicals with magical creatures. They can also be discreetly tasked to watch the halls without causing the obvious alarm and panic that Dementors, or the stationing of more aurors in the school would," as the Headmaster nodded.

"And furthermore, cats are common amongst both the non-magical world and the magical, meaning students like myself would know generally how to handle and treat them... and it wouldn't surprise me if some students' parents already have one as a pet. Then, you also have Professor McGonagall on hand, who is probably able to handle them better than any of us due to her rare talent," listing his reasoning for this idea. "And cats are natural predators of rats."

"The idea has merit," the headmaster began. "Whilst the _cost_ of acquiring such felines would be minor, caring for so many could become an issue. Then there is the commonly known fact that kneazles can become rather aggressive; this could cause some issues as well."

Looking over at Sirius who just nodded in agreement at this expected tactic and made their prepared offer, "We're feeling rather generous. Since its Christmas, Harry and I are willing to donate a combined total of twenty-five thousand galleons to the school," Sirius stated easily, throwing the headmaster off-guard at the mention of such a large sum of money, the portraits stirring with sudden interest as well. "The donation to be used for the reconstruction and expansion of the school greenhouses, I heard they were in need of some funding," offering the headmaster a smile. "After all, we can't have the school falling into disrepair especially when we may be hosting distinguished foreign guests in a couple of years," referring to the upcoming Tri-Wizard Tournament. "I'm sure the care of a couple of cats will not be a significant issue."

"Kneazles do seem to have some benefits after all," as the headmaster nodded accepting the unofficial bribe from the families of Potter and Black.

"So you will have no objections if I brought my own second pet? Say a kneazle of my own?" Harry enquired easily, knowing that now was the best time to get what he wanted with little resistance. "I know some staff members will have objections," reminding the Headmaster of Professor Snape's well-known behaviour towards him. "And some students could consider it favouritism if I'm allowed two."

"Of course not, my dear boy, it shall not be an issue. The allowance of a second pet would just be for your own security and peace of mind and would of course be allowed to continue even after the current threats have been removed." He answered back with his hallmark grandfather smile, his eyes sparkling with energy. "Are there any other requests?" The Headmaster probed easily, knowing how this particular game was played all too well.

"No," Sirius stated firmly. "Just an official note of your gratitude and the schools," Something the headmaster agreed to easily. "And, a chance to watch the Tri-Wizard Tournament in person, as a guest of the school, along with a couple extra seats for friends and family."

"Perfectly reasonable," the eager wizard noted. "However, I have to ask you to keep quiet about that, otherwise dozens of prominent families will be asking for similar arrangements."

"Then we have an agreement," Sirius added for the both of them, whilst they both got up to leave. "I'll have our account managers transfer the gold to the school's accounts," as they got up to leave.

"Would you two like to use my office floo?" The headmaster offered.

"Yes, that be most generous of you," Sirius answered for the pair of them, as the headmaster showed them to the fireplace and held out a pot of floo powder.

"Have a good day Lord Black. See you in a couple days Harry, at the start of the new term," The headmaster voiced, using his trademark grandfatherly smile as the pair of them disappeared through the fire.

**Hogwarts Express**

"_What?"_ he demanded, for what felt like the hundredth time as Penny continued to smirk at him in amusement while watching him continue to gently stroke the newly named 'Shadow,' his recently required half-kneazle. Shadow purred lovingly in response.

"Oh nothing," she dismissed, still with a small smirk on her face, while he continued to stroke Shadow playfully.

Looking over at his cousin who was sitting next to him, "You have any idea what Penny's smirking at?" wanting to know if this was some kind of joke at his expense.

"Nope," Tonks said firmly with a shake of her head, her bright pink ponytail swinging side to side.

"You know you don't have to sit with me?" he said to his cousin. "You can go and sit with_ your_ own friends if you'd prefer."

"Mum and Sirius asked me to keep an eye on you, so I'm keeping an eye on you. And Penny here is a friend of mine anyways; unless you're asking because you secretly want some time alone together so that you can snog Penny here senseless," Tonks joked, as the beautiful younger girl in question blushed visibly. "I doubt Penny's had a decent snogging session lately."

Ignoring his cousin's remark, he continued to stroke Shadow, his hands running through the magical cat's soft midnight black fur, reminding him of his own dark locks of hair. "I freely admit that Penny has _many_ attractive qualities that I enjoy," he voiced evenly, in a factual tone, studiously ignoring Penny's increased blush, "just like with you Tonks, my dear. Speaking of attractive qualities... that reminds me of the time I saw you _fully_ _nude_. My, my, it was quite the treat; just a shame that I was too young at the time to _fully_ appreciate the opportunity," thoroughly getting back at his cousin who was looking extremely embarrassed at the release of this rather private information. "You have a very appealing body," he said, while using his mind magic to pull up the memory, in perfect clarity, of the time he stunned her and left her naked in a classroom draped over a table. This called out strongly to his newly sexually awakened mind.

"Now that sounds like a story I'd _absolutely_ love to hear," Penny stated gleefully, looking over at the red as a tomato puff, clearly eager for some chance at payback.

"No, it's not," Tonks stated firmly, giving him a warning look which promised horrible retaliation if he continued, as her hand locked onto his, her nails pressing painfully into his skin.

"It is," feeling the pressure of her nails increase, "but, perhaps for another time," he offered with a mischievous smile, walking the middle ground just like Sirius safely advised when dealing with the female sex... And the only time you picked a side, he had been instructed, was when you were dating one of them. Sirius had elaborated, seemingly unnecessarily, that that one was always the one youwere _currently_ dating, not just thinking about dating.

"You're sure you don't want to kiss Penny?" Tonks enquired. "How could you know? You've never kissed a girl before right?" she teased mercilessly.

"It sounds like _you're_ the one who needs a good snog cousin, by the way you keep going on about it." he stated plainly. "Why don't you go find what's his name?" He knew perfectly well what the unimpressive fool's name was. "Last time I saw you with him you were snogging like cats in heat."

"We broke up," Tonks stated plainly. Harry immediately noticed her mood shift and now realized why she was hanging around with them instead of her normal friends. She didn't want to risk running into the Puff in question.

He set all joking aside and turned his complete attention to his cousin, "What happened?" he asked seriously, the hint of steel in his voice making both girls unconsciously shiver a tiny bit in pleasure, while wrapping his arm around Tonks' shoulders and gently pulling her close to his body, giving her a sideways hug the best he could.

"The same thing that _always_ happens," Tonks said quietly while leaning against him for support and taking in the feeling of safety she often felt when around Harry. She offered no further explanation, not that one was needed of course.

Seeming to sense that this was a sore topic for them Penny quickly changed subjects. "So Harry, why did you name him 'Shadow'" while gesturing to the handsome feline now sitting on Tonks' lap, who seemed to sense the mood of the one he sat upon and was trying to distract the seventh year with his cuteness.

"Well, _Shadow_ here, is not a normal half-blood Kneazle as you might have thought, he is actually half Shadow-Cat," he offered in explanation, as he reached across and stroked the feline's fur.

"Shadow-Cat?" the blonde haired Ravenclaw asked, taking the bait as he knew she would.

Smirking at her smugly, he answered, "Shadow-Cats have the ability to 'shadow' as it's rather unimaginatively called. In short, they can fade in and out of shadows at will. When 'shadowing' they can't be seen at all unless you flash a strong light directly on them. They are all but invisible in full darkness except for their eyes," he said as Shadow blinked, flashing them his eerily supernatural yellow eyes. "They are strictly nocturnal in nature, and have the ability to see through invisibility cloaks and charms. However, most of their abilities only become possible in the evenings, when it's already dark."

"Impressive." Penny admitted, eyeing the cat with a new regard. "Explains the sleeping anyways."

"Indeed," he dutifully noted. "But remember, Shadow here is half Kneazle as well, and thankfully, he has also inherited those traits, like their high levels of intelligence, an independent nature, and the uncanny ability to detect suspicious and distrustful people. Now you can understand why I paid a good sum of galleons to purchase him. Fortunately for us, he hasn't developed Kneazle aggression yet... still, he hasn't reached full maturity, so who knows what will happen in time." He added, "All these traits combined make Shadow here a_ very_ talented cat."

"Wow," Penny gasped.

"He's the first of his kind," Harry said softly with a good measure of smugness in his voice. "I looked around the shops, but couldn't find a kneazle that felt right. Most were either too aggressive or hostile, or just not smart enough for my tastes," he stated in explanation before Tonks rudely interrupted.

"No, you were just being picky, wanting the perfect little Kneazle," his cousin stated heatedly, annoyance in her voice.

"Perhaps," he acknowledged, as Tonks sent him another look which he ignored in favour of telling the story. "Either way, I went straight to the breeder to see if she had any for sale which weren't in the store. There I found out that she was trying to cross-breed shadow-cats and kneazles together. Shadow here was the first one born which showed the successful integration of the traits of both species, a true hybrid, stronger than his parents individually. I had to have him; he was just _too_ perfect for me. He cost me two hundred gold and the promise to keep the breeder informed of his development so that she could judge her success before attempting to breed more. I deemed it a very good bargain."

"That's a lot of gold," Penny expressed, whilst judging the cat with new eyes.

Shaking his head in disappointment at Penny for failing to realize what drove his decision making. Why he wanted the best specimen and why he was willing to pay so much for Shadow. "Gold doesn't matter if you're dead," he responded solemnly. Harry was a true businessman at heart, but the price didn't matter to him at the moment; he was doing everything he could to give himself better chances of surviving Pettigrew.

"So you don't have Serenity anymore then?" Penny asked.

"Of course I do," sounding somewhat offended at the thought he would not have his owl with him. "Sirius and I just persuaded the Headmaster to see the benefits of my having two pets," Harry explained.

"Sirius and Harry bribed him," Tonks stated disapprovingly.

"Really? I can't see the Headmaster being bribed," Penny protested.

He snorted at the innocence behind a statement like that, "Not that type of bribe," Harry countered quickly, "Sirius and I made a generous donation of funds to the school. The greenhouses will be going under redevelopment and expansion. You think the Headmaster is going to pass on that type of deal, new greenhouses for the first time in over a century? At the small cost of me having an extra pet?"

"No."

However, before he could say anything else the compartment door slid open, "Still alive then, Potter," Draco spat from the doorway. "Thought you would be dead by now," while Shadow hissed dangerously at the Slytherin, tensing up.

He ignored Draco, knowing it would easily infuriate the attention seeking Slytherin, or ASS for short, as he looked over at Penny and stated easily, "At least I know the gold was worth it," whilst taking the cat off Tonks' lap giving the cat an affectionate stroke.

"Want to stroke him?" he asked, while offering Shadow to Penny, totally ignoring Draco and his two goons in the doorway.

"Sure," she said, while taking Shadow from him. "He has such lovely soft fur Harry!" as Shadow purred in appreciation at all the attention he was receiving.

"I'm talking to you four-eyes," Draco spat, as his goons chuckled like the idiots they were.

Taking off his glasses, he pretended to slowly clean them on his shirt, to further annoy the Slytherin. "You know Draco, I've heard better insults from 6 year old kids, but I have to say 'four-eyes' is a bit dated, has muggle origins, and is hardly creative by any standard," he said plainly, sighing in apparent disappointment as he slipped his glasses back on. "From a second year, I personally would have expected _better_ invectives," as the Slytherin Trio seemed respond only with confusion.

Giving an exaggerated sigh and a small shake of his head, "_Invectives_ means insults, abusive language," listing off its meanings to the trio like he was reading from a nearby dictionary. "I also would have expected better manners from such well-born purebloods, ever heard of knocking and waiting to be invited inside gentlemen? I would have thought that as scion to the Malfoy family your father had at least taught you the basic manners and decorum befitting your station," shaking his head again in mock disappointment as Tonks and Penny quietly giggled.

"What are you laughing at _mudblood_?!" Draco fired off as if it was an automatic response.

"And there's the foul language, and such an insult to use openly in polite company," he said easily, looking over at Penny, who seemed to be in shock that a mere second year had said such a thing to her. "He doesn't even truly know what it means, or its historical origins. Druidic wizards used the word 'mud' because mud is fertile, mudblood was their term for fertile blood, or new blood, but it's been corrupted over the many years by individuals like Draco here, pureblood supremacists, who are ignorant of their own past and cultural roots," whilst shaking his head in disapproval. "You know what's even funnier Penny, Tonks, is that these fools think it's the funniest thing in the world. Just proves that they're even bigger idiots," he expressed.

Looking straight at Draco he made eye contact, "The simple fact that you surround yourself with idiots and fools, just lowers your own standing further," he stated calmly as his voice turned cold and deadly. "You are _beneath me_ Draco, nothing more than a spoiled brat with illusions of importance, but important you are not. You are nothing to me and you have no innate talent or ability to justify or excuse your attitude. The only reason you're on the Slytherin Quidditch team is because your godfather is your head of house. Remember that. _Now get out_," as his wand appeared in hand sending a silent banishing charm at the blonde, knocking him through the open door before two more spells hit his friends in quick succession. "Next time, knock," as his fourth and final spell left the compartment, hitting Draco's brow, instantly resulting in the Slytherin's hair going a very familiar, but distinctive shade of orange as a pair of spells not his own left the compartment.

Smirking in amusement, he watched Penny holster her wand, deciding not to say anything about her actions before shutting the carriage door and locking it with a flick of his wand.

"You know you're not allowed to lock the carriage doors right?" Penny voiced as he retook his seat.

"You're not allowed to cast spells either," he shot back at the older Ravenclaw. "But stuff happens. Anyways, why are we not allowed to lock the doors?"

"Because it helps discourage 'unsuitable behaviour' amongst the sexes," Penny stated evenly. "For student safety as well, so prefects can get in if need be."

"In other words, they don't like the idea of students going at it like horny rabbits whilst travelling to and from the school," Tonks stated bluntly.

"Anyways, changing the subject away from kinky sex in semi-public places," causing both girls to look at him in amusement. "My proficiency in the mind arts has now developed to the point that I can start to learn the art of legilimency. I believe that I'll even have an innate gift or talent for it. However, I need a partner I can practice with," his eyes darting between the pair. "I was wondering if either of you would be willing to assist me."

He waited patiently for one of the pair to step and volunteer, or deny him outright; if that happened he would have to wait for the summer and use Rita as his test subject. Both looked at each other, trying to decide between themselves who would be his willing test subject, neither of them stepping up, before they both spoke in a surprising show of unity and trust.

"We both will."

**Hogwarts**

Damn, he was tired. He had spent all his spare time over Christmas overseeing the placement of new security wards around the school, whilst at the same time trying to locate the Chamber of Secrets' entrance, and working out how the guardian within it moved about the school undetected. He was personally leaning towards a basilisk, not that he could prove it with his current evidence though. Candidly, the only way to prove it would be to lay his old eyes on it, but that was a great risk in itself. Myrtle was an easy reminder of that. However, he was able to make some good educated guesses by himself, further refined by the assistance of the previous Headmaster portraits around his office adding their own insights.

He had once again talked to all the magical portraits around the scene of the attacks, and in the castle as a whole, just like he had done all those years ago when seeking to prove that Hagrid was innocent. Originally, he had thought that now that he was the headmaster they could talk more freely and openly with him, since there were numerous enchantments which could be placed on portraits to prevent them from sharing information with outsiders. His office was a perfect example of that. However, they couldn't remember anything this time as well, or they still couldn't talk about it. So clearly there were powerful enchantments around the halls preventing such knowledge from spreading, even to the current headmaster, which meant one thing. That Slytherin himself had taken measures to prevent such knowledge from spreading when Hogwarts was originally built.

Despite this setback, he had narrowed the area down to the lower floors, since none of the attacks had taken place above the third floor so far. Personally, he believed the chamber was located beneath the school, in its very foundations, in the bedrock supporting the castle itself. It was the only logical place the Chamber could exist and still remain hidden from the rest of the school after a thousand years. It would also prevent investigation; otherwise the castle itself could be destabilized, especially if the Chamber was tied into the wards.

Moving over to the window, steam could be seen in the distance, announcing the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. 'Pipes?' the thought suddenly occurred to him before he dismissed it, Slytherin would never place his fabled chamber amongst them or lower himself to walking in sewage. 'Or would he?' as he thought back to what was actually known about the founder after a thousand years. Who knew what was fact and what was fiction, fiction exaggerated even further by the sheer amount of time that had passed.

He considered the possibility with an open mind, after all, Myrtle was found dead in the second floor girls' bathroom. However he dismissed it eventually; Miss Granger had spent the last month brewing her polyjuice potion there and nothing had happened to her, and she was a muggleborn. Surely the heir would have targeted her if she was so close to the chamber's entrance. After all Miss Granger was very knowledgeable and skilled, but she did rub people the wrong way, especially purebloods with her know-it-all attitude, as Severus had put it. Frankly, it was worth exploring; he would instruct the house elves to watch the bathrooms more closely.

Of course, he already had the house elves on high alert watching for anything amiss, as they frankly knew far more about the school's inner workings than even him. They had been here since Hogwarts was created; their magic was a part of the school.

Picking up a lemon drop from the bowl, he thought about Miss Granger. She would definitely prove to be a useful long-term ally of Neville's. She had the knowledge and skills that the boy lacked, and would help him understand the muggles. Plus with her providing knowledge and skills as needed, this would prevent the boy from developing them for himself, keeping him reliant on others to a point. That was one of the reasons why Tom/Voldemort was so very dangerous, besides his natural magical prowess. He was extremely knowledgeable in all the branches of magic; he didn't need others if he desired to kill someone, he could tear the wards down by himself, then move in for the kill with ease.

Preventing Neville from learning such useful skills as warding and runes would help act as a safeguard should the boy ever go dark. He would be forced to rely on his allies, and that would make him dependant and easier to handle, therefore easier to defeat, if need be. After all, if you can't ward your own stronghold, how can you defend yourself against aurors? If you can't tear down wards, how can you kill your enemies hidden behind them? How can you attack?

That was also why he encouraged Ron to be the planner of the little group, to make Neville dependant on Ron for that skill, and knowledge, and would help keep him under control and reliant, whilst reassuring Ron's ego that he had something valuable to offer. And that was what he ultimately wanted from Neville, he wanted the boy to become a fine model knight of his Order of the Phoenix, capable of leading in combat, but never being the king, a prince perhaps, but never a king. Thinking of Neville and the boy's role in his own plans, the boy was like a bloodhound for trouble, once he got a scent and locked onto it, it was bound to find him. Maybe this was the prophecy at work? After all, the boy was a parselmouth, and the prophecy spoke about marking him as his equal. That would imply that they had the same potential in raw magical skills, even if their personalities were so opposed after Neville had been raised under the strict watchful eye of his grandmother. Regardless of the similarity, other possibilities had to be taken into account. The Longbottom line was very old, and there was no reason why they couldn't have married someone with Slytherin blood in their past and the prophecy had just awoken this sleeping ability buried in the long history of the bloodline?

Maybe he should let Neville handle this? Maybe only a parselmouth could discover the chamber? Maybe the snake statues around the school held the answers? He dismissed this as foolish, really to allow a second year to handle a Basilisk. He was reminded him of the events of first year, causing him to reconsider the idea further. Stroking his white bread, he walked over to the window, his mind reminding him that all snakes would be forced to obey Neville, due to Parseltongue magic unless it was someone's bonded familiar behind the attacks. This was very unlikely, as it was more likely that an artefact of Voldemort's was being used, making the familiar bond impossible to interfere with Neville's commands. Plus such bonds took years, if not decades, to develop naturally, not months. Without a bonded magical to deny him, the boy could possibly just order the creature back to sleep, to stop its attacks.

Thinking the issue over again, he decided to let Neville carry on searching for the Chamber of Secrets; maybe the boy would prove to be successful where he had failed. Smiling as a plan formed, the wheels turned in his mind: he would let the boy lead him right to the Chamber, and he would handle the rest after that. Fawkes would blind the beast and could heal his wounds if need be. And a couple of advanced transfiguration spells later to overcome the magical hide, he'd have one dead snake. Its carcass could then be sold for a ridiculous sum, and the funds raised would be added to the Order's accounts, as well as the school's.

Of course, he would show off the mighty slain beast to the world before selling it off, and the public's blind faith in him would be restored. His status and influence would climb higher overnight. No one would ever again question his ability to keep the school or its students safe. Naturally, he would point out Neville's efforts in finding the chamber and leading him to it, tying Neville's place in history with his own even further. As well as elevating his own place in Hogwarts' history to greater levels. He could see it now, the headmaster which bested the Slytherin beast, a Gryffindor besting Slytherin, while driving out the darkness. Smiling, he thought about the future history books recounting the achievement; he could rest secure in the knowledge of being regarded as one of the greatest wizards of all time. Combined with his links to Neville's fame, if Neville proved even moderately successful, he would be the modern Merlin.

Letting Neville face Tom in his first year had been a calculated risk, due to needing to test the boy and the prophecy further. Frankly the boy wasn't in any real danger, the whole confrontation had been engineered by himself from start to finish, and the blood protection magics around the boy made him virtually immune from direct harm from Tom. As long as that blood protection was in place, Neville would never have to fear Tom, only his followers. But that blood protection meant nothing against an ancient basilisk. He would have to get Ron to suggest to Neville, the idea of asking the portraits, at their first meeting back from Christmas, especially the snake ones. Of course, they were serving detention still, so that may take them a while to accomplish.

He enjoyed watching as the first of the carriages appeared in the distance, bringing back his precious students from their holidays. For now he would just work to ensure that no one died until Neville could find the chamber, or until the artefact and this heir were discovered. Hopefully, the additional Dark Artefacts detection wards he put in place over the break would pick up something useful, allowing him to narrow down his search and suspects.

After all, if the Chamber was found first, he would slay the beast. If the artefact was found first, there would be no need; he would still hold onto his position as the Headmaster.

No matter how much faith he had in his own abilities to slay the serpent if need be, he would rather avoid the risky action altogether. Not because he was a coward or doubted himself, but he was simply needed for the years to come, to continue guiding magical Britain into the distant future. Tom was still out there, and risking his life to slay a Basilisk would be terribly reckless, especially with the dark times on the horizon that only he could stop. And on a more personal note, he did not like the idea of the history books saying he had failed to stop the Dark wizard. Tom/Voldemort would end up being a stain on his historic reputation.

Allowing himself a small smile as the first carriages made their way across the frozen lake, he wondered what their thoughts were seeing the castle on such a fine winter's day. At least there had been one good development over Christmas; Sirius' donation of gold to the school finally allowed him to redevelop the greenhouses.

**Midnight Gold**

The first couple days back had been the same as they always were, nothing special as everyone settled back into their daily routines, ready for the first set of classes to begin. However, he was busy planning, refining his next raid, with the price being the Marauder's map. Naturally, he was being extremely careful, since the twins had had it, and had given it to Neville to use. Whether that was permanent or on loan, he didn't know or care. It was something he planned to retrieve one way or another; he just had to plan it out carefully.

Of course he already had several different plans mentally prepared; the main issue was getting past the Gryffindor door guardian, aka the Fat Lady. Another problem was that he didn't know who actually held the map. Hermione, may have unintentionally given him the names of the map's currently users, but not who or where it was being kept.

On the bright side, he was closer to finding out the map's location than he had been the previous school year. Now he had four names, rather than hundreds of possible suspects. "Scheming again, Harry?" Penny asked, clearly joking.

"Naturally. I must say you look particularly lovely tonight Penny," paying her an easy compliment, his eyes going up and down her form admiring her for a couple seconds in her school uniform, before saying seriously. "You know me, this mind is always thinking up something or other," tapping his head, "It helps pass the time. The lessons are hardly challenging to me."

Rolling her eyes at his remark, "Can we talk for a second?" Penny finally asked.

"Of course, lead the way," gesturing with his hand, before following her into one of the nearby empty classrooms, once again noticing the attractive qualities of his friend as she walked ahead of him. "So what is it you wanted to talk about?" She put up a series of charms on the door to stop them from being overheard by anyone walking by, this naturally catching his attention.

Leaning on one of the desks, she spoke, "An idea suddenly occurred to me over Christmas whilst watching a dark crime drama. We could map out the locations of the attacks to see if there is a pattern, or some type of geographical factor involved behind the attacks, like a hotspot we should avoid. We should also start making a list of students and individuals that are missing at the time of the attacks, decreasing the number of overall suspects. Then the victims themselves should be investigated, to see if they upset anyone before they were attacked, and to see if there is a common choice in victim, beyond being a muggleborn, so that we can find a better motive."

He smiled more and more as he listened to her thoughts and arguments; this was why he so valued Penny's friendship and abilities and would defend her accordingly, "Sounds good, it's a shame we didn't think of this earlier," as he instantly thought over everything he knew of the attacks so far, the mind arts again proving themselves invaluable, "The second floor, _all of them_ have happened on the second floor so far," he said, instantly seeing the pattern behind the attacks in his mind.

Smiling as she answered, "Yeah, I noticed that too, but nowhere near as fast as you did," she then reached into her pocket and pulling out some parchment, before unfolding it on the desk to reveal a crude map of Hogwarts. "I made this," showing him the map, which had red dots on it.

Examining the basic map, he saw that it was just an outline of halls, with a key, c for classroom, t, for toilets, d/c for dorms and common rooms... "You missed Myrtle's own murder," pointing out where a missing red dot should be, in the second floor girls' bathroom, which she quickly marked with a red marker pen, which lent credence to the conclusion that the second floor was the hot zone. He looked over at his friend, who was watching him examine her map, "At the next meeting, you should point this out to the others," he suggested, wanting to give Penny the credit, as well as raise her status within their little group. "We can also take it to the Professors afterwards, and hope it helps them to refine their search. This will probably secure the Head Girl position for you next year, you know?" gesturing to the map, getting a minor blush in return.

"I didn't think of that," she admitted quietly. "I started to think about what the monster could be, so we can try to put some countermeasures into place. I'm thinking it must be some type of magical snake, due to the Slytherin angle. The man's symbol was of a snake, and he was a Parselmouth, even his surname sounds snake-like. It makes sense that he would want a creature that he could control effectively, and a snake would be best for one with his abilities."

Nodding at the sound logic, since he had been thinking a similar thing. "Been to the library?" already guessing that she had, since they had plenty of free time the last couple of days, but wanting to confirm.

"Yeah, but no books on magical snakes, or if there were any they have already been taken out by someone. I was wondering if you could get your godfather to send us any books he has on magical serpents," giving him a hopeful look.

"Sure, no reason why not," seeing no fault in the idea.

"Thanks," she said, as she folded up the map. "We should send the letter as soon as possible," slipping the map into her handbag, and slipping her arm into his and dragging him out of the room.

"Relax," he stated, as he was pulled along the corridors, pulling her back.

"Sorry," instantly slowing her pace to a more relaxed one. "It's just scary, knowing something is out there, lurking in the shadows waiting to strike. It gets to you, eats at your nerves," Penny offered in explanation.

"I _know_. I have Pettigrew after me, remember," while they climbed another set of stairs to reach Ravenclaw tower. "You'll be _fine_, just keep your head down and avoid attracting any unnecessary attention to yourself," he offered, as they reached the Ravenclaw common room door with a pair of aurors outside playing cards amongst themselves, looking like the very picture of professionalism. These were the fools that were supposed to be protecting him.

The enchanted door knocker spoke quickly, "What can you catch, but not throw away?" challenging them with a riddle.

"A cold," he answered automatically, already knowing the answer as he walked into the semi-packed common room, which had a number of students working on their remaining Christmas assignments.

Finally entering his dorm room he picked up some parchment and quill, and quickly wrote a letter to his godfather, explaining why he needed the books before handing it to Penny to read, "Covers everything?" wondering if she wanted to add anything to the letter.

Normally he would just use the mirrors for such a request, but he felt it was better that he had at least some mail coming to and from Hogwarts, that he wouldn't mind being read, since it wouldn't look right if he never received or sent any owls at all. He did, of course, plan on telling Penny in the near future about them, as soon as he was sure she could detect a mental intrusion via legillimency.

"Looks fine," handing him back the letter to seal up and address to Sirius Black.

"Serenity," getting 'his' owl's attention, "Could you please take this to Sirius Black, my godfather," holding out the letter. Seeing that Serenity was still unmoving, just waiting for something caused him to sigh in realization, "How many pieces of bacon do you want?" Lifting up her claw talons and making a two sign, "Two?" he asked, which was quickly confirmed with a nod of her head.

"Agreed," handing her the letter which was quickly taken from his hand, before flying out the window into the night's sky. Penny's snigger could be heard shortly thereafter.

**1 Week Later**

The first couple weeks back to school had been the same as it had been every other year, tiresome, as she slowly got herself back into a routine of studying for her exams and completing her assignments. Now she stood patiently outside her head of house's office door while she went over what she was going to say for what felt like the thousandth time, waiting for her head of house to answer.

'Damn, why did I have to do this alone?' She wondered once again why Harry had insisted that she tell the professors what she had discovered by herself. Her mind went over all the different reasons for why Harry had said she should do it this way. 'The Head Girl position' she realized suddenly. 'That was his motive and goal all along, but why? That was easy to figure out, now that she was thinking more like a detective; it always came down to power and influence with him.'

"How is he not wearing green and silver?" she asked aloud, not realizing that the office door had opened and her head of house was present.

"Green and silver doesn't match my eyes Miss Clearwater," the charms master joked, taking her by surprise at his sudden appearance.

"Sorry sir, I was thinking of a friend," she offered in explanation.

"Of course, not Percy by any chance?" the Head of Ravenclaw House enquired.

"No sir," slightly amused that he thought it was Percy capable of such strategy.

"Now, Miss. Clearwater, what can I do for you?" the short man asked.

"I wanted to show you something sir, it's about the Chamber of Secrets," catching her head of house's full attention.

"Very well then," gesturing for her to enter his office, "What is it you want to show me?" he asked.

Reaching into her handbag, she quickly pulled out the crude map she had sketched, "I've been trying to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. It occurred to me over the holidays whilst watching a non-magical crime drama that mapping the various locations of the attacks could give us an operation zone, or 'hot spot' to focus our search," whilst laying out the map on the desk.

"I've marked all the attacks in red. You'll quickly notice that all of them have happened on the second floor with the girls' bathroom there being the nexus of all them," jabbing her finger on that particular dot, as her head of house looked over the map.

"Most interesting, Miss Clearwater," he answered, whilst closely examining the offered map for himself.

Smiling at the praise, "Thank you sir," feeling more confident now that the idea hadn't been outright rejected as a silly idea.

"What do you think the monster is then?" the charms master said suddenly, catching her off guard.

"I don't know sir," she admitted.

"I'm sure you have some theories, humour me," he encouraged.

"Well... _we_ think it's a snake, after all Slytherin himself was a parselmouth so it makes sense that it would be a snake, but we can't find any matching descriptions to the creature index cards," suddenly she realized her mistake.

"We?" he probed, catching her mistake.

"Mr. Potter and I have been working on theories, with Miss Patil assisting us," spreading the credit amongst her Ravenclaw friends to take the full brunt off Harry.

"Ah." He suddenly smiled, "Green and Silver would suit him very well indeed; I do often wonder how he ended up in my house at times," clearly realizing who she was talking about earlier. "Do you mind if I take this? And show the rest of the staff?" he enquired, holding up the map.

Shaking her head, "Of course not sir," allowing him to take the map.

"Any reason why Mr Potter isn't here?" the Charms master enquired, clearly trying to understand the enigmatic second year a little better.

"He said, it was my idea and that I should take the credit for it," gesturing to the simple map, not mentioning her own conclusions about Harry's motives since it felt like a betrayal of his trust. Her magic twinged a bit at the idea. "He only pointed out things that I had overlooked," she admitted.

"Very well Miss Clearwater," the Head of Ravenclaw house accepted.

**Midnight Gold**

'This is _too_ easy,' he mentally noted while he slipped into the Gryffindor common room noting that there were far more students up and about than he had expected for this time in the evening.

Normally at this time of the night most Ravenclaws would be in bed fast asleep or studying in private in their rooms. Pressing his back up against the wall, he was once again grateful for his father's cloak. He silently and patiently watched the room waiting for it to clear enough for him to pass unnoticed by its occupants. He took in the sight of the gryffindor common room, finding it appealing on several levels, as he watched the various groups relax on the very comfortable looking chairs by the fireside. He mentally noted any design or layout ideas that he might want to use in the future, at his home or in his various businesses. It was hard to stop thinking like a businessman with long-term plans, no matter the situation.

His parents would have spent 7 years of their lives in this room, working on assignments, joking, playing games, falling in love, and generally enjoying life at school. Another group burst into sudden laughter. Several minutes passed in silence as he continued to vigilantly watch the room, noticing the lack of bookshelves, and the small study area off to one side. Another major difference was the fact that they had separate dorm rooms, one leading to the girls and another to the boys.

Eventually a group broke away as it got later, boys heading off to the right, the girls heading off to the left and climbing their respective staircases. He silently followed the boys up the stairs, until he arrived at the second year boy's dorms.

He slowly opened the door, his wand in hand ready for action if need be; it proved unneeded as he heard the familiar sounds of deep snoring from the room's occupants. Examining the room to see if he had made the right choice, he recognized Longbottom's features dozing in one of the four poster beds, the bed sheets displaying the gryffindor house colours and emblem as the bed sheet rose up in time with the boy's regular breathing.

Pulling his attention away from Longbottom to look around the rest of room, he found a mixture of glasses of water on the bedside tables, books and clothes dumped haphazardly across the floor along with bits of parchment and quills, before coming to a single conclusion, 'Gryffindors are messy, and probably the house elves' favourites due to all the messes they create.' Another random though occurred to him, 'a _busy_ house elf is a _happy_ house elf.' The idea seemed to resonate with him and rough outlines of plans started to form. _'Happy, unpaid workers who thrive on having as much work as they can get.'_ Now that certainly merited more thought. He turned his attention back to the job at hand.

Stepping into the room and closing the door carefully behind him, his eyes darted around the room quickly as he began navigating his way between the mess on the floor and watching the four boys for any signs that he was detected.

Standing in the centre of the room, he focused his mind on the spell and results he desired. He pulled up memories of the 4th year summoning charm he learnt at the hands of Penny. "Accio, Marauder's Map!" he whispered the fourth year charm forcefully, whilst mentally willing and visualizing the magical map his father had helped to create flying towards him. He heard an immediate rustle of parchment to his left in the quiet room, as he spun around to see a bedside table drawer moving, as if trying to open itself.

He quickly ended the spell lest the noise wake the room's sleeping inhabitants.

Moving silently across the floor like an incorporeal spirit, he reached the bedside table, noticing Neville's wand on its oak surface, as the water in the glass rippled in time to his silent steps. Opening the drawer, he recast the summoning spell again to ensure he got the real deal, causing an old looking piece of parchment to suddenly fly out at speed, almost hitting him in the face, before falling quietly to the floor.

Kneeling down he picked up the old, folded piece of parchment, getting a sudden rush at finally having the map in hand after a year and half of diligently searching for it.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to go good," he whispered, his wand pointed at the enchanted map, watching in amazement as ink suddenly appeared, his father's nickname appearing on the parchment, along with the names of the rest of marauders who aided in its creation.

Stuffing the ingeniously enchanted parchment into his jeans pocket, he quickly rose to leave the room.

Leaving the sleeping Gryffindors alone rather than prank them pointlessly, he silently and invisibly climbed down the stairs before walking straight out of the Gryffindor common room. The sleeping Fat Lady not noticing or caring that the portrait had swung open for thin air.

Normally, he would be tempted to plant a false lead, a fake trail, to prevent anyone from discovering his involvement, but he believed it was unnecessary this time. After all, no one knew he knew of the map, only Penny did, and she would stay quiet. Their friendship and the companion oath would ensure of that.

Either way, it would mean Neville would believe that at least one of his friends was responsible, or a fellow Gryffindor at the least. That was ultimately what he hoped would happen. He was originally planning to prank the gryffindor dorm rooms in green and silver to make it look like a slytherin was behind the whole thing. But it wouldn't take much to realize that Slytherin wasn't responsible, that they were being played and then look for another explanation. Better to be subtle in this instance and keep them guessing.

Ducking into another secret passageway, he worked his way back to Ravenclaw tower.

Opening the map, he quickly found the location of Ravenclaw tower and noticed an auror guard at the door. 'Crap' he mentally muttered, as he realized he couldn't get into his dorm room without revealing himself. After all, the guards may be lazy and near incompetent, but they would certainly notice the door opening by itself for no reason, or the knocker asking a riddle to thin air. 'I knew I had forgotten something.' However another moving dot got his attention, William Whitedrove, the 7th Year Ravenclaw prefect, patrolling on the 5th floor. Smiling, a solution popped into his mind; he would simply wait until the Ravenclaw prefect ended his patrol for the evening and returned to the common room.

Another half an hour passed before the 7th year prefect returned. He waited patiently nearby choosing to use the time wisely to familiarize himself with the map's workings, whilst looking for anything odd on its face. 'Nothing,' he thought. Soon enough he had hitched a ride and was back in his dorm room no worse for the wear, getting ready for bed after his successful raid. A year and a half search had ended in success. Now the map was his, to use and study at his leisure. The secrets to its creation would be his in time. It was a research project he was thoroughly looking forward to.

**Midnight Lord**

He rolled his eyes as another group of girls giggled at him as he walked past, a few of the braver ones even greeting him with a sultry 'Hi'ya Harry,' whilst batting their eyelashes at him. He would then predictably reply with a simple, but charming smile and a 'morning ladies,' or afternoon, etc... the worst part was that it wasn't just his own year group showing interest all of a sudden, almost all of the female population was behind this new trend of greeting him, with the exception of the first years, for the most part, and the 7th years, who mostly just smiled at him.

It was both flattering and annoying on so many levels. After all, it was a major confidence booster having multiple girls batting their eyelashes at you first thing in the morning, and making crude attempts at flirting, like Lavender was trying to do after obviously hearing about how the twins each got a kiss from him. But it was annoying as well, simply because it was a major distraction from more important matters. Having to play nice, whilst trying to write an assignment, or researching a new piece of magic, yet doing neither well, was not all that appealing it turned out. Even when he thought he'd finally gotten away and could now get some work done a group of girls would randomly sit down next to him in the library or Great Hall and attempt to make conversation that he wasn't really all that interested in.

He was seriously tempted to change policies and be an ass to the female population of the school with the notable exceptions of his friends, but Sirius assured him that it would stop eventually and that he would mightily regret being an ass later. As in all things 'girl,' he bowed to the man's expert knowledge and followed the advice.

He just knew that it was Rita's Witch Weekly article that had caused this. He had seen it, of course, and had approved it prior to publication. He had thought it was rather flattering actually, with no outright lies, just tactful omissions really. He even helped pick the photos of him chosen for the article, ensuring that he looked nothing but the very best; but maybe he and Rita had done _too_ good of a job? His productivity had certainly taken a noticeable hit, although it did reaffirm just how powerful an impact the press could have. Once he had enough free capital on hand, perhaps he should look into buying a controlling share in the Prophet? Or if that failed, start up his own publication and directly compete?

Upon entering the Great Hall his cousin waved him over, clearly wanting his attention for whatever reason. Noticing he had quite a few eyes following him, tracking him, he went over to the Hufflepuff table. "What's up cuz?" he asked causally.

Smirking up at him, "I just thought you would _want_ to see this," she said, and then handed him the newest edition of Witch Weekly. He ignored the pictures on the front cover; if he had looked closer he would have spotted one of him with a golden '1' next to it.

"What am I looking at?" Harry enquired, only half-interested in women's gossip, but wanting to keep up-to-date on the public opinion concerning him.

Smirking at him, "Look at page 4," Tonks answered. He could feel the staring at him increase.

Forcing himself to ignore the growing amount of stares, he flipped to page 4. After all, they were in a public place, he could hardly shout at them for gawking, even if it was annoying and rude. Seeing his face with a massive 'Rank 1' written next to it, with the sub-caption 'Britain's Most Eligible Teen Wizard,' he realized why the whole school was suddenly staring at him... "Interesting, but they got one important fact wrong, which renders this ranking totally incorrect. I'm 12, not thirteen." He noted disapprovingly, whilst shaking his head visibly, causing the listening student population to burst into laughter and giggles whilst he looked down the listings and saw that Neville was at number two, which really didn't surprise him considering the boy's status and fame.

He closed the gossip magazine and handed it back to his overly amused cousin. "That explains a lot, and why I've been looked at like a particularly juicy piece of meat lately," he got a few more chuckles as his words carried across the Hall. Looking around the Great Hall, he wondered which girl would find the courage to ask him out first, and ultimately try and claim him for themselves. More importantly, which girl would he say 'yes' to? Personally he was putting money on a girl from Gryffindor to be the first; they were an impulsive and reckless bunch.

'Maybe I should make a list of yes/no candidates,' he mentally considered, as he took sanctuary next to his cousin.

**Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin**

The cold winter air tore at his face as he dived headlong into the Slytherin chaser line, pulling a following Draco along with him, helping to further disrupt the Slytherin team's counterattack as his teammates intercepted their rivals in the air. Roger skilfully caught the Slytherin pass, before hurrying down the pitch and hurling the quaffle at the Slytherin goals as Harry and Draco sped dangerously close to the Slytherin goalkeeper, adding to the chaos and distracting the opposing goal keeper while the quaffle tore through the Slytherin goal posts once again.

Smirking as he pulled up, he climbed into the dreary winter sky. "160 – 70, where is Slytherin this game?" Jordan cried out over the loudspeakers, as Ravenclaw continued to pull ahead in goals, as three quarters of the stadium cheered.

Looking over at the red faced Slytherin seeker, "Still with me Draco?" he mocked easily to his rival. "I swear you almost took out your own goalkeeper back there," pulling the young Malfoy's strings again to drive him further off his game, as he subtly scanned the Quidditch field for the elusive snitch, while noting that Draco's hands were locked onto the broom very tightly, almost fearfully.

"Shut up Potter!" the Slytherin second year spat out at the top of his lungs, the boy's anger flaring just as Harry hoped it would, whilst he continued to watch the game below. Draco was very much like a simple minded bull; as soon as you waved a red flag at him, the boy would predictably charge you. Keeping up this series of insults allowed Harry to keep the boy distracted and off balance throughout the whole game.

Smiling, "Nah, I like talking to you," he stated as he continued to circle in the air, allowing him to scan the pitch whilst he continued to get under the Slytherin seeker's overly pale and thin skin. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Edward hit a bludger, its trajectory off the bat showing that it was coming right at them, or more accurately, towards the stationary Draco who was solely focused on him rather than minding his surroundings as he should have. Recognizing an opportunity to get rid of the opposing seeker, or at least injure his rival, he felt it was time to finally broach a subject that he knew would enrage the boy further. "How's the lovely Pansy by the way? I heard that you two are now contracted?" the bludger continued to rocket straight towards them as Harry circled around Draco to keep the boy's line of sight away from the approaching bludger.

"That is none of your business Potter," Draco sneered as the bludger came ever closer, several people below now realizing what was about to happen, but the height and wind dampened their shouted warnings.

He shrugged his shoulders at that, "Just asking, we did have very nice dance together after all," he continued to watch the fast approaching bludger, before suddenly cocking a smile, "You should really duck _now_," he warned, his tone mocking.

"Duck?" the Malfoy heir had just enough time to ask, before the bludger hit him in the face, the Slytherin suddenly going limp, like a puppet with its strings suddenly cut in mid dance, before tipping to one side and falling off his broom bonelessly, which in turn suddenly went dead as well.

Watching as the second year fell, gravity pulling the boy ever downwards towards the hard winter ground below, and certain death, he mentally debated whether he should act. Should he save the boy? Seconds passed while he mentally weighed his options before screams echoed through the air, the crowd below now realizing what was happening.

He quickly realized that he had no choice _but_ to act, otherwise people would ask why he didn't do something, why he didn't attempt to save the opposing seeker's life when he was so close.

Leaping into action at these thoughts, he tipped his broom downwards, his cold analytical mind making lightning fast deductions, 'Draco dying would strengthen Lord Malfoy's claims that the headmaster is unable to defend and/or protect the school, and will likely also cause him to blame me for the death of his heir. The press will be sympathetic to the man's case, swayed by illogical emotion, forgetting entirely that I'm a 12 year old boy too and thus putting all my long-term plans into jeopardy,' listing reasons why the boy needed to live. The cold air pressed painfully against his face, numbing it, as he chased after the falling boy. 'At least we have this game won for sure now,' he noted dryly as he reached out to grab the Slytherin boy who was less than 50 feet from the ground at that point. However, just before he could grab hold of the boy's foot, a wave of magic rolled over the Slytherin, his body glowing an ethereal blue, suspending him in midair as Harry shot past him in surprise, but quickly regrouping to pull up before he himself hit the ground.

Pulling up on his broom, his attention turned back to Malfoy as he watched the second year Slytherin float harmlessly and slowly to the ground. His eyes spotted the headmaster glowing with magical energy in the staff box, his wand in the air, its tip glowing with the same colour energy that grabbed the falling boy midair.

'Nice spell,' he noted, as Professor Hooch and Madam Pomphrey rushed onto the pitch to treat the downed player as the game was temporary halted.

He drifted over to his teammates, who were busy talking about changing tactics to capitalize on having a one man advantage, especially with it being the other team's seeker. "Harry, we _need_ to get another 60 point advantage before wrapping this game up," Roger suddenly said. "I want you to continue to run interference manoeuvres until we have at least a good 130 point lead over them before catching the snitch. If we do that we would have a good chance of winning the Quidditch cup this year for once."

"Alright," Harry quickly agreed, seeing what the captain was up to. "Remember, Longbottom is banned from playing in the next game against Hufflepuff. Gryffindor will have a green seeker and they will have to rely heavily on their chasers to pick up the slack."

"Of course, how could I forget about that?" Roger asked aloud, whilst another group of adults ran on to the pitch, the familiar Lord Malfoy leading the charge, followed immediately by his stuck up, but beautiful wife.

"We've got this then," Jones voiced. "As long as Gryffindor loses to Hufflepuff and we win _this_ match with a good lead, all we will have to do to win it all is to stay close to Gryffindor in points in the final match up. Even if they win the game, both teams would have won two games each, then it would just come down to the points. Let's pad our point total," Roger agreed wholeheartedly with this.

"Let's do this!" Alice stated excitedly, as a new wave of energy rippled through the squad, the staff now beginning to move the injured Slytherin seeker.

He shook his head at their excitement, as if it would be so easy, "You know they're going to play even dirtier now, right? They got nothing to lose. The only way they can win is if our team can't compete and is forced to forfeit." He then looked over at the Slytherin squad having their own pep talk. He found it rather funny that none of the players had gone to check on their fallen seeker, which just proved once again that while money can buy many things, it can't buy real friends.

"Hands together," Roger ordered, his own hand at the bottom of the pile as the team added their own hands, with Harry's being right on the top.

All together they yelled, "Go Ravenclaw!" while launching their hands in the air. Professor Hooch walked back onto the pitch moments later, ready to restart the game.

**Ravenclaw Common Room**

The victory celebrations were well in hand as the house of knowledge and wisdom celebrated their one sided victory over Slytherin. They had won the game with a shocking 360 point lead, ending the game at 490 to 130, resulting in Ravenclaw achieving their biggest quidditch victory over Slytherin house in over three decades. What was even funnier was their head of house dancing in the teacher's box as each goal was scored. The only way it could have been better was if Professor Snape had been there to see the hyperactive charm master's impromptu dancing. Instead the resident potion's master had disappeared to personally attend to his godson in the hospital wing, and you didn't have to be genius to know that there would be retaliation for their victory from both the potion's master and the rest of his house.

'Sighing' audibly as she sipped some of her honeybrew mead, she was thankful that she wasn't the on-duty prefect responsible for keeping order tonight. This not so little party was more than about celebrating; it was about the house blowing off some much needed steam with both exams approaching and the ever present fear of the Chamber hanging over everybody's head.

"Penny, would you like to dance?" Reese Giles suddenly asked, taking her by surprise at the boy's sudden appearance, realizing that she had been day dreaming.

She considered the boy's request for a second, feeling a bit sorry for the guy after recovering from his potion's accident, the magical scars still plainly visible on his hand. She answered by simply taking hold of his scarred hand, and leading the way to the cleared area so that they could dance. After all, Reese wasn't too bad of a guy. In fact he was friendly, knowledgeable, and had strong features, with nice dark hair, not too small, not too tall, 'just right' as goldilocks would say. 'Better watch out for bears,' she thought, causing a smile to form on her lips.

"Penny, has anyone ever told you that you have really beautiful eyes? They're this brilliant blue with a hint of emerald green outlining them," Reese said, as they started to dance together.

She smiled at his compliment, "Thank you Reese, you're not too bad yourself," she replied as they started to move to the music, her nose picking up a hint of firewhiskey on his breath. Looking over into the corner of the room, she saw that Harry was dancing with Padma, the two second years obviously enjoying themselves.

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note: **Thank you all for the positive and supportive reviews, it's always important since it tell me what _you_ like about the story, and what needs to be developed and worked upon.


	34. Y2 Instincts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M For safety, contains mature themes.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author note: **Thank you very much for the many encouraging reviews. I always try to keep my story fresh and original, and this is helped greatly by my beta **Joe Lawyer **who I frequently bounce ideas around with, to the point where we've already discussed possible story developments up to 4th year. It is a very difficult balancing act with a story this complex, due to its many elements.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 34: Instincts **

**Posted 8th June 2013**

**Revised and ****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

Dumbledore shifted uneasily in his padded chair as he sat at his antique wooden desk, just like the many headmasters that had come before him over the school's long history. His discomfort was caused by the newly erected wards that he had placed over the whole school. Not only were they proving to be ultimately ineffective, the information they were providing him was more emotionally heartbreaking then he ever imagined possible. The new wards were telling him that there was a source of dark, destructive magical energy in the school, somewhere. It was so powerful that it was leaking out and tainting the whole castle and even the nearby grounds. This was alarming beyond measure. Only his calming draught infused lemon drops managed to soothe his old heart.

He had always seen Hogwarts as a bastion of light and hope, of innocence and goodness. To know that there was such powerful dark magic at its very heart was heartbreaking and shook him to the core of his being. His beloved phoenix, sensing his distress, began to sing a soothing song, comforting his soul and raising his spirits. Looking over to Fawkes, his phoenix sat on his golden perch like a king would on a throne. The immortal firebird looked absolutely breathtaking in his reds and golds, the embodiment of a living flame. He muttered a silent thanks to his old friend and companion of many years and returned to his thoughts.

Exposure to dark magic could taint souls if it was strong enough; it brought out the darker aspects in one's personality, usually making people angrier, more hateful, and more destructive. To know such a thing was here, at Hogwarts, tainting his innocent students, was quite simply disturbing. It was, in all probability, also affecting his staff members, like Severus, bringing out the man's darker emotions and impulses, and drawing on Severus' bad memories of his time in school. It was also, in all likelihood, why bullying was such a major problem in the school. He would have to talk to Severus about this latest revelation, as Severus was far more knowledgeable and experienced with dark curses and their effects. Maybe he would be able provide some insight into the matter and hopefully together they could find some means to counter it. Regardless, he had to keep this quiet. It wouldn't do for parents to find out about the dark taint corrupting their precious children; that would an unmitigated disaster, and in all likelihood see him removed from his position as Headmaster. History would look rather poorly on him for this failure should it come out.

Already he was firmly set on discovering the source of the corruption and rooting it out. He privately hoped that it was just the Chamber of Secrets being opened that was causing the cloud of darkness to fall over the school; but his old heart and shrewd mind told him otherwise. All the magical readings provided by the wards suggested that the dark magic had been here at Hogwarts for a while. In fact, if the readings were correct, 'a while' spanned several decades. Decades spent slowly spreading like a cancer, an infestation. At the same time though, it also provided him with a possible explanation to one of his enduring problems of recent years, that of the Defence Against the Dark Arts position and the continuous need to find a new professor for the course each year. Perhaps this was source of the curse? Might breaking and cleansing the school of this darkness solve his DADA staffing problem? Merlin, he could only hope to be so lucky. However, he was just as disheartened to discover higher than average dark magic readings in both Gryffindor tower and the Slytherin dungeons, readings high enough that it couldn't simply be dismissed as much as he want to.

The news of dark magic in his own former house of Gryffindor was devastating, considering the house had always had a reputation for being noble and light aligned. This brought up many questions, the foremost being how this could have happened in the first place. And ultimately who was responsible for it? Or was it several students? Were they corrupting the younger ones? What would happen if the knowledge spread that the school's resident white knights were practising the dark arts? The whole school would be shocked, the public at large as well; everything they believed they knew about the Hogwarts house system would be shaken. It went without saying that this would make him personally look very bad, as it had happened under his watch. It would be even worse if Neville was somehow involved in this dark cancer infecting Gryffindor house. He once again considered whether Neville might be involved.

The dark magic readings in Slytherin, on the other hand, weren't all that much of a surprise. Throughout his many years of teaching at Hogwarts there had always been at least one student in that house who was actively learning the dark arts, despite his best efforts to stop it. Slytherins as a whole liked power and the allure of forbidden knowledge. The dark arts had long offered quick, easy power to those willing to pay the price. There could be a few merely experimenting with it... He truly hoped that it was merely teens pushing boundaries, rebelling in their own way against the restrictions on what magic they could learn and practice. He would have to instruct Severus to watch his house more closely from now on, but to avoid direct investigation... Severus had to stay protected, so that he could resume spying when Voldemort inevitably returned. On a positive note, if Slytherin was actually behind it, it would fall in the normal, more mundane scandal category. Everyone, whether they would admit it openly or not, expected that type of thing from the Slytherin students. It also had the benefit of reinforcing why Ron's efforts at keeping Neville away from Slytherin influences was so important.

The problem was that even with the school rules banning thestudy of the dart arts, and the possession of dark objects, he couldn't just authorize a search of a student's belongings unless he had clear evidence and a reasonable suspicion... It would be a major political scandal if he just started searching the belongings of 'respectable heirs' without a very good reason to justify it. He needed an excuse, a reason vague enough to authorize the search, but not point fingers. A school-wide search would allow him to conduct damage control... He needed something to allow him to search all the houses at once, so that no one would think that there was anything odd about him searching Gryffindor house as well. He would conduct that search himself, to give him better control over the situation, but it _could_ appear he was being unfair...

He would have to take Severus with him; he would play the role of the good Auror, whilst Severus would be the bad one. On the bright side, it would put the ever gloomy professor in a better mood after losing all chances of winning the Quidditch cup this year with his own godson in the hospital wing. However, then _Minerva _would cause problems at the idea of the hated potion master harassing her students and searching their private belongings, especially with the troublesome Twins always up to mischief. Severus would have a field day! _Minerva would have to be sent to the Slytherin's dungeons to make it seem fair. That way, if Severus did get out of hand with taking points and assigning detentions, Minerva would be able to retaliate accordingly. Who else could be sent with her though? Filius would be a fair and acceptable choice to most everyone, and he did have a passable knowledge of the dark arts._

_He sighed at that, it was a shame that _Alastor_ was disabled. The auror would have been perfect for this particular job. With Alastor on the case, Slytherin house would have been cleansed of dark material, and all without endangering Severus' position. _The rest of the staff could then be divided up between the other two houses without any problems. Both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff house showed below average readings for the presence of dark magic, so he doubted that they were responsible, or housing anything truly harmful.

'But first he would need an excuse, a pretext to allow him to act, otherwise this was all academic anyway,' he noted soberly. He quickly realized that waiting for an acceptable excuse that would please the masses may result in a student's death. 'Perhaps he could engineer one?' he mused. He continued trying to come up with a scenario to allow his plan to proceed, before a sly smile formed on his lips. He had a plan...

**Midnight Gold**

**Ravenclaw Dorm Rooms**

Things had changed. _He_ had changed, he realized, as he moved deeper into his own subconscious mind. He carefully peeled away the layers as he approached where his inner animal spirit lied in his mind, his unrealized animagus form, a primal reflection of him at his very core. The mental fog slowly cleared, the surroundings gradually coming to focus, just like opening his eyes first thing in the morning. He had spent months dutifully meditating on his bed each night, trying to determine why he wasn't making any further progress in connecting with his inner animal spirit. For months he had made little progress, but then he had a sudden and decisive breakthrough.

The first breakthrough in discovering his animagus form was shortly after New Year's Eve. It had a lot to do with making peace with his newly awakened sexual instincts and desires and the increased hormones starting to flood his body and mind, beginning the inevitable biological change from being a child to that of a man. He had been fighting it, resisting it, and eventually trying to utterly eliminate the new feelings and urges with his occlumency. He quickly came to realize how impossible and futile the effort was and had made peace with the fact that it was a change he couldn't control, nor should he really. He had been subconsciously fearful of it, at the loss of control, even if he knew from an intellectual standpoint what was happening from his own research and studies. This fear and his subsequent actions had been holding him back from reaching his inner animal spirit. He would have to thank Sirius for his advice and guidance in overcoming this barrier, this irrational subconscious fear he had of being out of control in any way. His light-hearted godfather had known just what to say to help him to both recognize and relax his own controlling nature. He had always been self-sufficient growing up, but this was one instance that showed how truly valuable it could be having an adult guardian in his life who cared about him and had an interest in ensuring his continued development.

His second breakthrough had come from developing a deeper understanding of what it meant to be a parselmouth and what the snake truly represented in magical terms. He had to dismiss any preconceptions that he had about snakes, from both his childhood in the muggle world and his brief, but satisfying time in the wizarding world. Both had had strong negative opinions about the species. He realized he had to let go of the subconscious and irrational fear of being stigmatized and abandoned by his family for being a parselmouth. What he had shared with Tonks in the library had elements of truth to it (the best lies always did), the fear of being alone again after finally having a family had been holding him back from accepting this ability for what it truly was, a gift... He had to let go of what he been raised to believe as a Christian, that snakes represented evil, the forbidden. Instead, he had to adjust his beliefs to what the druid and pagan cultures saw the snake to represent, that of knowledge, especially mystical knowledge, of rebirth and restoration with the shedding of their skins.

That had been the final piece of the mental puzzle. Once those issues were recognized and those parts of himself accepted, he started to again make progress. Recognizing these things were holding him back prompted some serious soul searching, an intense and objective examination of himself, where he tried to acknowledge and accept both his positive and negative personality traits, the very things that made him who he was, both the good and the ugly. To say it was a pleasant experience would be lying, but there was something truly cathartic and empowering about it. An accurate evaluation of his psyche and what made him who he was, was an important step in the animagus process, but animals did not have complex emotions like those of a human. His self-image needed to be broken down to its most fundamental parts to understand his animal spirit.

Only once he had made peace with the many parts of himself, did the fog clear, to reveal that he was in dense woods, knee deep in snow. The cold winter wind battered his face, his skin stinging under the assault, his breath cooling quickly in the cold air and forming small clouds of visible mist. The snow was harsh, bitter, and utterly relentless. Any animal that lived and thrived here would have to be able to endure, survive, feed, and prosper in this unforgiving environment, just like he had with his relatives. He knew what he had to do without even being told; he had to find his inner animal spirit and bond with it. He knew that it could take days, or even years of searching his animal realm, but it was a trial of worthiness, a test posed by his animal spirit to judge him… Following his instincts, he just wandered through the harsh snow covered forest, looking for his inner animal… but found nothing; his inner animal was elusive, unseen, private, but it was out there.

This was what the animagus potion actually did in a more timely fashion; it _forced_ an immediate confrontation between the spirit animal and the conscious mind. Because the meeting was forced, rather than the natural result of intense meditation and candid self-reflection, even after the magical identified and met their animal spirit, they would often have problems afterwards achieving the final, complete transformation. Even if they did, they would never be as close with their inner spirit. The connection between their human and animal form would never be as deep if what the book said was accurate, and that was something he very much wanted out of this process. His instincts then told him to go left, up the hill through the snow covered trees. He obeyed and turned left and forced himself through the deep, snow drifts. A wounded pine tree caught his attention; its bark was torn off revealing the brownish yellow wood underneath, with a set of deep claw marks tearing through it… He pressed his small, child-sized hand against the cold tree, his mind finally registering the sheer size of the wound as he compared his hand to the claw marks.

He somehow knew that his inner animal spirit had done this; it was marking territory, marking the boundaries of its kingdom… his eyes scanned the surroundings hoping to find more evidence of his animal.

This was the first clue to what his animagus form actually was, beyond the environment he found himself in. There were only so many non-magical animals in the world with such large claws, even fewer who lived in such extreme conditions. His instincts and mind were both telling him that he was a feline, and a _big_ one at that… if these claw marks were anything to judge by. After making this conclusion his mind went into overdrive creating a mental list of all the known felines that he knew lived in such harsh conditions. 'Perhaps a mountain lion, no, snow leopard, no, wildcat, no, too small… _Tiger_ _maybe_?' He finally asked, his magic seemingly answered by stirring, and he felt a rush of excitement at receiving the answer to his long struggle.

He didn't argue with his gut, he knew it was right and he now knew what to expect, causing him to push deeper in the snow covered forest while ignoring his protesting legs and the cold freezing his limbs. "I'll find you," he told the snow covered woods as he pushed himself forwards, looking for any sign of the tiger.

He didn't know how long he had been hiking, how long he had battled through the knee deep snow, or how long he had ignored the cold biting into his face, draining his energy. He just forced himself to keep going… this was all in his mind after all, just an illusion, a mental construct.

Continuing to follow his gut, his instincts, he eventually found a set of faded tracks in the deep snow. The large padded paw tracks lead westwards. He now had a trail to follow. He would need to move fast before the snow buried the tracks, his energy returning in his excitement at a tangible goal.

Every step he took felt like he was growing closer to his goal, even if he was quickly tiring, his legs fiercely protesting the strain…of course this really made no logical sense, considering he was actually sitting in a lotus position on top of his bed in his Ravenclaw dorm room. All of this was only in his own mind. He pushed on anyways, before he lost the quarry that he desperately wanted to meet. Unfortunately, luck was most certainly not on his side as he was forcefully ejected from his mindscape, and slowly started to regain the senses of his body in the real world. He felt another forceful shake of his shoulder.

Opening his eyes, his irritation on the tip of his tongue as he looked up at the source of the disturbance when he had been so close. "_What!_" he spat, his eyes taking in both Penny and Padma's worried faces, idly noticing that they were in their school uniforms. 'That's odd, why wear their uniform during the weekend?" he mentally pondered as the pair suddenly looked at each other after noticing his irritation.

"We were worried about you Harry! We haven't seen you in days and you actually missed DADA today," Padma offered in explanation.

'DADA? But it's Saturday?' he thought, while still trying to process what he was being told. "It's Monday?" he asked uncertainly as things started to click in his mind. He tried to get to his feet at this realization, but immediately fell over as he dropped to the hard floor, the dark blue rug doing little to soften the fall. 'Dead legs' he noted, his legs stiff and cold and dead of feeling after sitting for days in the same position. Doing a sit up, he started to rub his legs trying to get the life back into them as he looked at his friends.

"Yeah, it's Monday." Penny confirmed, looking down at him with slight confusion, and offering him a hand up.

He accepted her hand, "Damn, _you are_ freezing Harry," Penny expressed in alarm, pulling him upright as he struggled to reach the edge of his bed, and quickly cast a warming charm at him.

Silently thanking his friend for the warming charm, he looked over in the direction of his windows, finding them still shut tight. Even if Serenity had come and gone, the window would have only opened briefly and closed immediately thereafter, so the cold wasn't due to that. He also didn't leave the window open prior to meditating either. Was this cold he felt a manifestation of what he experienced in his mind? Did his magic make it real? Shaking his head, he tried to come up with a more fitting explanation, but it was the only explanation that made any sense. His stomach chose the next moment to rumble ominously loud.

"You ok Harry?" Padma asked, distracting him from his thoughts.

He chose to give her a reassuring smile, "Yes, I'm fine, just very hungry," he answered, as he got up on his still shaking legs and walked over to his well-stocked fruit bowl and took several pieces of fruit before getting some chocolate frogs out of his bedside drawer. "Want one?" he offered, holding up a chocolate frog to the girls as Penny pressed the back of her hand against his forehead, catching him off guard, and otherwise ignored his offer, before frowning with obvious disapproval.

"I think you need to go to the hospital wing Harry," the elder girl stressed, her features laced with concern, as he bit quickly into the sweet chocolate to restore a bit of energy. "You're awfully cold."

"I'll be fine," he offered to reassure them again, his smile clearly failing as exhaustion started to register on his body. "But, I think I might need a nap."

"Harry, what were you doing anyhow?" Padma enquired, as he started to eat a second chocolate frog to subdue his rumbling stomach.

"Meditating. I simply lost track of time," he offered back, a tad embarrassed about the whole situation.

He watched with trepidation as Penny's arms crossed over her bountiful chest, her stance shifting to clearly indicate that she was not accepting this answer at face value. "For two and half days!" Penny challenged, giving him a stern look.

He did not want to argue or outright lie to his friend, "Indeed." At this he crashed back onto his bed, his eyes already closing involuntarily at the softness of the mattress.

"Harry, you can't sleep now, you'll miss herbology," Padma scolded, trying to pull him out of bed, but he was like a dead weight to her. "You've already missed one lesson today, you can't afford to miss another."

'What did one lesson matter? He was already so far ahead of his peers; 99% of the lessons this year had been nothing but recapping material he already knew from the previous school year, not to mention his intense extra study of DADA. He was well _into 5__th__ year_ spells in that subject thanks to his cousin's efforts.' "_Fine_…" he sighed, before rolling off his ever so comfortable bed and opening his trunk to retrieve a spare pepper-up potion, rather than having to deal with both girls nagging him and his head of house on his back side. "I wanted to save this," he mumbled in regret as he quickly downed the bright red potion, steam immediately erupting from his ears like an old fashioned pressure kettle, creating a whistling sound. Almost at once the potion's effects were felt, energy flowing through his system. At this influx his mind cleared whilst his eyes grew less heavy, becoming more focused.

Reaching into his wardrobe to retrieve his school uniform, he tidily laid them out on his bed, already stripping down to his tight boxer briefs as he walked into the bathroom to have a quick shower, not caring what the pair of girls saw. His body was in excellent shape after all, and would only get better if he carried on with his efforts. He absently caught their shock at his brazen actions, both already going bright red in embarrassment, but yet neither really looking away from him. Shutting the bathroom door, he didn't bother with casting a locking charm as it would be pointless, both girls knew the counter charm and he seriously doubted the pair would sneak a peek.

**Songbird Rooms**

"Myrtle said the last thing she remembers before she died, was a male voice hissing in the bathroom. She was going out to confront him, but saw a massive pair of yellow eyes. That was the last thing she saw alive," her best friend explained to the group as she shot Daphne an annoyed look for taking credit for her discovery.

"At least we know what this monster is now and roughly where the chamber of secrets is located," Penny stated to the group, before looking over to where Harry was sitting on the couch next to Padma, looking quite worn out.

"Indeed," Harry seconded, speaking up for the first time this meeting, causing the groups' interest to stir at his sudden affirmation.

"Care to enlighten the rest of us?" Tracy asked on behalf of the group, while noticing how truly tired Harry looked in his seat next to Padma, his eyes heavy with signs of exhaustion.

"A basilisk," Harry said firmly. "It kills its prey through eye contact. It's an instant death for you, as soon as you meet its eyes," Harry offered with a tired yawn, but his deadly serious tone sent shivers down her spine, the group suddenly becoming silent at this news. "It is said only a parselmouth can control one. That explains the hissing Myrtle heard in the bathroom, and why she only remembers a pair of yellow eyes before her death. It was the basilisk she saw. However, it's said its only weakness is the cry of a rooster," he noted with amusement.

"Myrtle's story also confirms the Chamber's location and our suspect monster, since Hagrid's chickens were slaughtered at the start of the year before the attacks," Penny added, clearly not shocked by the fact, causing her to leap to the conclusion that the pair had already discussed the possibility of it being a basilisk before this meeting occurred. "Otherwise, why would a boy, or, for that matter, _the_ head-boy, be in the girls' bathroom talking to a massive snake? Wouldn't you choose somewhere less open to discovery?" No one tried to argue the point, even Blaise was keeping silent, but Tonks was giving Harry unusual looks, like she was trying to work out something. 'Interesting,' she noted, wondering if Daphne had also picked up on the nonverbal interaction between the pair.

"So we inform the staff then," the lone puff stated, her eyes still locked on Harry, who seemed too tired to really notice her scrutiny. "Hopefully they can set a trap for the heir and end this whole Chamber business," the group voiced their agreement at this, with only Harry staying quiet.

"Something on your mind Harry?" she inquired, wondering what exactly was going through the sharp Ravenclaw's mind. Was it just exhaustion keeping Harry quiet? Or was he scheming?

"Just thinking Tracy," the dark haired raven responded, his hand adjusting his collar before explaining further under their combined stares. "I think it would be best to check the bathroom first and re-go over our facts and arguments, otherwise the staff may dismiss it entirely due to our age. If we get it wrong, any creditability we have with the staff will be ruined, not to mention that if this knowledge gets out we could have painted targets on our backs for no reason. Then there is the matter of possible rewards for our efforts."

"Rewards?" Tonks exclaimed. "For Merlin's sake Harry, we have a Basilisk going around the school! And you're thinking of a reward?"

"Just saying cuz, no need to get your knickers in a twist," he shot back. She fought to keep a grin off her face at this unusual remark from Harry. "All of us have expended a great deal of time, effort and energy on this; we also have key evidence of who truly murdered Myrtle. This will clear Hagrid's name and stop Lord Malfoy's plot to take over the school. Then there is also a very good chance that Lord Malfoy may retaliate against us for interrupting his latest scheme." This dose of hard reality plunged the room back into silence once again, as everyone considered the argument.

"None of us want Draco's father in charge; Draco would be insufferable," she voiced confidently, speaking up again and expressing their collective thoughts. "So I'm fine with telling the staff," stating her position.

"On the subject of Draco, I heard an interesting rumor that he's being forced to step down as Slytherin's seeker," Harry stated from his place by Padma's side, looking over to her, waiting for her answer.

Before she could answer Blaise suddenly spoke up. "Yes, Draco is stepping down from the position. I quote his words. 'It's unbecoming of an heir of a respectable house to play a commoner's sport,'" a smug smile formed on the Italian boy's lips when he finished. "He was an even bigger idiot to say this while in the middle of the Slytherin common room. That certainly didn't do his standing any favors, not that he has any. Whatever personal influence he had is at rock bottom now, only his father and godfather's name has any pull left. Even his two apes are challenging him. If I was him, I would have simply stated that I was stepping down so that I could focus on the upcoming exams," which Daphne nodded to in agreement. "However, I seriously doubt he had a choice. Flint was going to have to kick him from the team anyways; the whole team wanted him gone, along with the rest of the house. The only thing that allowed him on the team in the first place was the broom advantage he brought with him. If they lose the next game, it will be the first time in 20 years that they lost three games in succession under one captain. There will be Quidditch scouts at the last couple of games of the year, if that loss happens any hope Flint has of going professional will go up in flames," the group nodded, processing the news.

"Draco also blames you for all this by the way," Blaise added, giving him a curious look.

"I expected as much," Harry replied evenly with an uncaring shrug of his shoulders to emphasize the point. "He needs someone to blame for his failings. He never struck me as a guy who could look at himself objectively," dismissing the issue with a causal wave of his hand, making it clear that Draco wasn't a real concern to him while providing them all with insight into Draco's character.

"On that note," her best friend's voice cut through the air. "Pansy has asked me if she could join our study sessions in the library." Daphne voiced to the group, bringing up another point of discussion, as well as looking around at all of them to gauge their reactions.

"As long as no one has any objections and she understands that it's a true study session, not a means to leech from our efforts," Harry expressed, voicing his own requirements, since he was by far the most academic of them. "She might also have to put up with some Griffs turning up as well. Padma invited her sister," looking over at the twin.

Speaking up, she wanted to make known some of her own terms for Pansy's inclusion, "I have no objections as long as she understands that we won't put up with any 'I'm better than you' crap."

"Anyone else?" Daphne invited, but the group stayed silent.

"On a side note, does anyone know why Neville is no longer talking to Dean and Seamus?" Blaise asked the group.

"From what Lavender and my sister told me in charms today they had a _massive _falling out over some 'magical map' that is meant to show everyone in the school's real-time location. Neville thinks they stole it," Padma explained; she noticed out the corner of her eye Penny suddenly sending Harry a sharp, accusing look. 'Was Harry involved?' she asked herself.

"We should try to get it anyways," Daphne voiced, with Blaise seconding the motion with a firm nod of his head. She was just about to agree as well, as such a map would be incredibly useful to them.

Tonks looked like she was about to protest, but Harry spoke up again. "Indeed, _this_ map sounds extremely useful, but we should focus on our other more pressing concerns for now, like closing the Chamber of Secrets for instance. Furthermore, we don't know if this information is even accurate, an enchanted map really? Nor do we know who has it, if it even exists, it could be anyone."

"True," she added, watching Harry carefully, with the feeling that Harry knew more than he was letting on. "I just don't like the idea of a couple of Gryffindors spying on me," the group mumbled in agreement.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," he offered with a reassuring smile.

She smiled back, 'I knew it!' echoing through her mind when she noticed one of Harry's tells, knowing that the Ravenclaw was up to something and was most likely going to try to get it for himself, or already had it.

"So, what are we going to do about the Chamber? Tell the staff or not?" Tonks asked the room.

"I believe we should, but let's make sure that we have all the facts first. After that, then we can go together as a group," Harry suggested. "That way we all get the credit."

"What if some of us don't want to take credit for this?" Blaise asked, playing the role of devil's advocate. "Like you said earlier, this _could _paint targets on our backs for retaliation; I'd rather not have to worry about getting cursed in the back."

"Then you won't be mentioned," Harry offered simply.

"Or we could just ask the staff to keep your involvement quiet if you're scared," Tracy added with a grin of her own. "Just means more credit for me."

"So you don't care about angering this 'heir' or even Lord Malfoy?" Blaise countered quickly, showing a fair bit of emotion.

"I'm just a half-blood," Tracy spat, her eyes locking with his. "I'm beneath them already as far as they're concerned. It would be nice to see them brought low for a change. I'd love to see how the mighty have fallen."

"How about we change the subject, before angry words are spoken that we'll all regret," Tonks offered, looking between the pair. "It's the Gryffindor against Hufflepuff match this weekend, so who's playing in Neville's place?"

"Cormac McLaggen, a third year. He's considered a bit of a know-it-all loudmouth," Harry voiced with another yawn, before shooting Penny and Padma pointed looks as if blaming them for his exhaustion. "I've put 5G on Hufflepuff to win; Cormac is untested."

**Dorm Room**

"Let's talk Harry," Penny expressed firmly, following him into his room as he collapsed face down onto his soft bed, as the full effects of the pepper up potion he had taken earlier wore off and the inevitable major crash in energy occurred.

"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" He begged, wanting nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep for a week straight.

"No," Penny expressed firmly, taking no pity on him. "You have that map, don't you?"

He saw no point in lying to her, as he just wanted her to leave so he could get some much needed sleep. "Yes," he answered simply. "It's mine by right of blood," stating his reasoning.

"You don't care that Neville had a major falling out with his friends due to that map, do you?" the elder girl asked, testing his morality, her arms crossing over her large chest in disapproval.

"No, why would I?" he answered simply and bluntly, his eyes shutting on their own accord. Whatever Penny said next was a blur of words with no meaning to his mind, as he shifted into the realm of dreams and sexual fantasies.

**Midnight Lord**

"Harry, can you stay behind for a minute?" Professor Flitwick requested, as the charms class ended. Walking over to the professor's desk, he privately wondered what his head of house wanted to discuss, before several possible scenarios came to mind. First was the fact that he had missed a lesson on Monday morning without a sick note, another was that he was leaving the school next Thursday for a business trip with Sirius, and then there was Luna.

"What is it you wanted to see me about professor?" he asked quickly, knowing that Padma was standing outside the classroom waiting for him.

"You weren't in DADA on Monday. Any reason why?" his head of house asked from behind his desk, already knowing Harry's poor opinion on the subject's teacher.

"Overslept," he replied with a dismissive shrug, before adding. "Not that it matters, I could take my DADA OWLs right now and most likely get an acceptable without much effort on my part."

"Rather arrogant of you, don't you think, Harry?" the charms master said with a bit of disapproval in his voice.

"I prefer to think of it as merely well-founded self-confidence," he countered easily without pause, already expecting the professor's remarks. He was more than aware that he was far ahead of his peers in combat prowess, all thanks to his independent training, which quite frankly consumed a great deal of his free time. Having a deranged killer making a few attempts on your life also helped greatly in the motivation department. In his free time he was either training with Tonks, doing homework, practicing or training for Quidditch, exercising, engaging in his various independent studies, such as becoming an animagus, or tutoring Luna, not to mention keeping an eye on his extensive business assets and ongoing business projects, all the while trying to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets…oh, and looking out for Peter and his next try to kill him. "But then again I've been dueling with my cousin since my first year and already knew a dozen third year spells by the end of first year. With Peter about, dueling fills up any free time I have."

"I'm afraid that I'll still have to assign you a detention for this Thursday night," the charms master stated with a sigh of disapproval, most likely trying to mak e him feel guilty, but utterly failing at it.

"Ok." He said simply. "Anything else?"

"How's your mentoring of Luna going?"

He kept his answer short and to the point, as he wasn't in a mood for a protracted discussion today. "Fine, she is a model student." Plus, he was annoyed at the detention for speaking the truth and it being assigned for missing such a worthless lesson anyways.

"Any problems?" the charms master pushed.

"Nope," he answered, feeling no need to expand upon his answer.

"And the bullying?" the professor asked.

"On the decline. Chang and her friends are still a problem. A lot of students still call her 'Looney Luna,'" he voiced with his own disapproval.

"That is unfortunate," the charms master expressed with another sigh.

'No shit,' he mentally replied before asking, "Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

"Yes, I received a notice from your godfather stating that he'll be removing you from the school this next Thursday on family matters," the half goblin said, looking at him seriously. "The headmaster has already voiced his disapproval to Sirius for the interruption to your schooling."

"It's not really _any_ of his concern," he countered with a wave of his hand, dismissing the point. "And as the heir to a most ancient and noble house I need to be aware of the dealings my godfather, acting as my guardian, does in my name. This will be the _first of many_ such times I expect, over the course of my education," Harry expressed, making his position crystal clear on the matter. "If it becomes a concern I'll just drop Quidditch, since it takes up a lot of my free time and energy," he added, remembering how his head of house had been dancing in the stands as the Ravenclaw team dominated Slytherin with his help. He would drop the sport easily, as it held little long-term benefit to his goals outside Hogwarts.

"I never said that," the professor stated hurriedly, before frowning, clearly realizing that he had just been manipulated by a second year, even if it was likely unintentional on Harry's part.

"Is there anything else?" Harry asked.

"No, you can go," Professor Flitwick answered waving his own hand to dismiss him.

**Several hours later**

He watched as Terry led a group of second years in his direction. 'What now?' he mentally asked himself whilst the group of second years closed the distance between them. His brilliant mind jumped into high gear cooking up several different possible scenarios. Whatever it was, they were acting as a group, like a herd of cattle, so it was something which likely affected all of them in some way. But they didn't feel comfortable approaching him as individuals? And Terry as his closest 'friend' in the group had been elected or pressed into service as the group's spokesperson? However the true question was what did they want from him? His mind jumped back to his first year, how he had called them out on their laziness and childish attitude regarding their studies, how he only helped people worthy of him and could offer him something, was this the true reason? His gut told him that he was right and he had learned to trust his instincts, rather than second guessing everything.

Smiling as the puzzle pieces started falling into place, there was one thing all Ravenclaws loved and that was their knowledge. Looking over the approaching group, there was no apparent lack of knowledge or skill in the group; all of them had their own strengths and a top ranking in their year even if none of them were ranked first like him, so what academic strengths did he have that they wanted? Several answers jumped immediately to mind, but he dismissed them quickly. After all, they wouldn't be approaching him for lessons on the mind arts, since that subject was kept secret and very few knew he was a practitioner, so that left DADA.

Feeling that the mental puzzle was complete, he silently waited for one of them to speak up and confirm his conclusion. Terry spoke first, after Lisa gave him an unlady-like shove.

"Hi Harry." Terry voiced, his nervousness easily readable.

"Terry," he offered back, using the boy's name in greeting, before getting straight down to business instead of beating around the bush waiting for them to get to the point. "Was there something you guys wanted?" throwing them off balance with his bluntness.

"We were wondering if you wanted to study with us. You know, make a study group to revise for the upcoming end of year exams? We help you, you help us kind of thing?" Terry suggested with a smile, looking back over his shoulder to see that the group hadn't abandoned him.

He saw where this was going, they wanted him to teach them DADA in exchange for their own skills, however they had forgotten one thing. He was ranked number one and already had a solid group of friends who compensated for any of his weaknesses, but he didn't say this out loud. He replied with a politic "No thanks," before getting on with his stupid essay, effectively dismissing them. His quill was already back in hand, carrying on the half written sentence like he had never stopped. The mind arts were truly amazing.

"Come on Harry, it will be fun," Terry whined, as several of the second years voiced similar remarks.

"No," his tone firm, level and assertive, but not sounding outright rude.

"Why?" Su suddenly asked, the normally shy girl speaking up for the silent group.

Considering his choice of words, he looked back at the petite Asian girl, her features showing the familiar signs of Chinese heritage, just like Cho Chang did with her dark hair. "Because I've already got my own well established study group of friends and because I already know _all_ of the second year material... so why would I waste time studying and rereading material that I already know?" he asked them, seeing them wrestling with the idea just as he noticed Luna approach, her books visibly in hand as he remembered their agreed upon lesson scheduled for this free period.

'Good timing,' he observed, once again being saved by the first year's sudden appearance and providing him with a means to withdraw without being seen as rude, so that a repeat of his argument in first year didn't occur again. Quickly putting his stuff away in his backpack, _his_ student silently moved through the group unnoticed. He privately wondered if she knew how to cast a _notice-me-not_ charm, since she was totally ignored by the group, like normal. "Give me a second Luna; did you do the reading like I instructed?" he asked his charge.

"Yes Harry," Luna replied, her head cocked much like an owl would as everyone looked at her and mentally asked themselves the same question. 'Where in the hell did she come from?' as they looked at each other for the answer, but no answer was forthcoming.

'When didn't she?' He asked himself as he looked back at the first year, rewarding her with a smile and with a simple "Good," as he closed his backpack and swung it over his shoulder. That was one of the things he liked most about Luna and why he took a much more active role in mentoring her than the professor would have otherwise expected.

She was willing to learn and didn't need to be spoon fed the material like some idiots he knew. If he asked her to do something, she would do it, and frankly he was certain that she would be a model student if it wasn't for her shyness, unusual behaviour and odd remarks, but everyone had their quirks. Plus, he got that personal sense of accomplishment whenever she successfully learned a spell under his guidance. He was willing to bet quite a bit that she would get ranked first in her year due to his assistance with her studies. "Let's go," he said, before promptly making his escape.

Unfortunately, instead of holding his tongue and acting civil Anthony Goldstein blurted out. "Why are you helping Looney Luna and not us?"

Not liking the remark, first, it was demeaning and insulting and it reminded him strongly of his relatives calling him a freak while growing up. Second, Luna was now under his protection; these impertinent words were a challenge that the more primal part of his mind recognised immediately... he would have to stand up and assert his position otherwise such remarks would continue and his own status would be weakened... as he would be effectively saying, 'I'm all bark, and no bite.' "What are you, _an_ _idiot_?" sending the insult flying at the Ravenclaw who seemed to physically recoil at the question. "Professor Flitwick charged me with overseeing Luna's academic development, and, unlike you, she is my _friend_," he stated publicly to the room, his audience, whilst stepping in front of the first year protectively to further stress the point. "Come along Luna."

**Midnight Gold**

"So, what did you do to upset Penny?" Tonks enquired as the pair of them headed down the corridor towards the second floor bathroom to search for the hidden entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Thinking over Tonks' statement, he had actually noticed that Penny had been colder than usual to him. "I did nothing to my knowledge," he voiced, as a pair of students walked past them. Looking over towards Tonks, "Got any ideas as to what I could have done?"

"Nothing that relates to you specifically, maybe it's just her time of the month," Tonks offered with an amused smile, trying to reassure him. At this he merely nodded in understanding, not needing or wanting any further information on that particular subject. After all, he was already well aware what 'that time of the month' was code for thanks to his godfather's hard-earned wisdom on all things female and his own understanding of biology, so this could just be a normal mood swing. Their walk finally reached the bathroom door.

"You first," gesturing with a flick of his head for Tonks to take the lead and scout out the girls' bathroom.

"It's clear, Myrtle's not even here," the puff answered back, as he entered the bathroom and quickly cast a locking charm on the door.

"Good, that makes it much easier," he voiced before heading over to the bathroom stalls to begin his investigation. "Which stall was Myrtle's body found in?"

"This one, if the Auror report is accurate," Tonks voiced, pointing to the stall with her wand carefully, before pushing the wooden door gently open with the tip of her wand.

Entering the stall, he noticed that it was essentially the same as the boys' ones in their own washrooms. "I'm a distressed, highly emotional girl," he voiced while closing the door, whilst his cousin laughed at his impromptu role playing. "So, I hear a voice, a male voice, in the girls' bathroom, I plan on confronting him, maybe even embarrassing him," he said, trying to envision Myrtle's last moments of life, slowly opening the door, looking between the gap between the door and the wooden fame, noting the range of visibility it provided, noticing how the sinks were situated in the centre, in a circle. "Tonks, check the sinks," he instructed, his gut telling him that he was close; his cousin waved her wand in response, casting a high level detection charm on them.

"Nothing Harry," the witch replied, with a minor frown.

"That doesn't make sense," he vocally complained, his gut still telling him that he was right, as he stepped forward casting his own detection charm over the sinks, but still found nothing. Not willing to give up, he went over to sinks in person to inspect them, looking for anything out of place before he did find something, it was a small silver snake imprinted on one of the taps. It was in the style of a Slytherin S, bringing back memories of the enchanted locket his godfather had found. "Tonks, I found something," waving his cousin over, who looked over the tap herself. "See it?" he asked, pointing to the snake with his hand and noticing his cousin's confused expression.

"What? It's a plain old tap Harry," Tonks voiced, looking confused.

"Really? You can't see a snake engraved on this tap?" he asked carefully, as the serpent started to move around the tap, seemingly trying to hide itself. His mind had already come up with several reasons why Tonks couldn't see it. "Maybe an _extremely_ powerful notice me not charm is at work here?" he thought, before he remembered that that particular charm distorted and redirected one's line of sight, but did nothing to block a physical sense such as touch. He grabbed Tonks' hand, while noticing how soft and silky it was. "Close your eyes," he said quietly, as he directed her hand over to the engraved snake, "Do you feel it beneath your fingers?"

"Yeah, it's moving," she exclaimed in surprise, her eyes opening and looking at the tap and then immediately looking back at him in confusion. "Harry, what are _you _doing in the girls' bathroom? Why are you here and why are you holding my hand?" the puff suddenly asked, letting go of his hand, before walking towards the bathroom doors to leave.

Confusion ran through his mind at Tonks' sudden remarks, 'What the fuck?' One minute she was feeling the engraved snake, now she's acting confused and walking out of the room. "Tonks, stop!" he ordered, after realizing it was the work of spells.

"Harry? What are you doing in the girls' bathroom?" her features looking confused, asking the same question like she was on a recording, like she was struggling against something. "I really need to go; I've got homework to do," before moving again towards the door again.

'Slytherin, you sneaky bastard,' he mentally applauded and spat simultaneously, realizing the work of potent compulsion and memory charms he had read about during his study of the mind arts. 'I need to learn some compulsion and memory charms. Merlin do they seem awfully useful at the moment' he noted. Reaching for her hand and pulling her chin down so that their eyes met, his hands started to run through her silky pink hair in a comforting fashion, his emerald green eyes meeting her own currently brown ones. "Tonks, a _memory charm_ and _compulsion charm_ have been placed on you, it's making you want to leave this room," he explained, holding her gaze, sensing her confusion. "Fight it, look deep within your mind," his cousin's face showed her strain as she started fighting the spells. Several long minutes passed as he watched the battle unfold in her brown eyes, feeling her emotions vacillate thanks to his budding legilimency and empathic skills.

"What the fuck?!" She finally exclaimed after several intense minutes of struggle, before almost collapsing to the floor from mental exhaustion.

Catching his cousin in his arms as she fell, he softened her ungraceful fall, holding her close. "You ok?" he asked carefully, while kneeling down with her, her head in the crook of his shoulder. "Do you remember now?" He asked, noticing her substantial and exquisite chest rising and falling, before he dismissed the primal attraction, choosing to instead focus on his cousin's eyes and her mental well-being as he tried to read her emotions.

"Yeah, I'm fine Harry," she said quietly while still breathing heavily. "But I feel like an idiot after all that," she admitted, looking up at him with a half-hearted smile.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Slytherin was known to be a cunning bastard," he reassured her with his own genuine smile. "We know the truth now, this is no normal tap. Now stay here," already having a theory that because he was a parselmouth he was purposely immune to the enchantments. Looking down at the engraved snake, it suddenly stopped moving under his gaze.

"_Another speaker we have?" _it hissed back in joy, its fork-like metal tongue shooting out of its mouth_._

He focused on the snake to ground his gift and ensure he spoke correctly, "_Indeed, I am a speaker_," he hissed back, confirming his ability to the metal snake on the tap. Thinking over the snake's choice in words, he asked his own question, wanting to confirm the snake's statement and wanting to get an idea of the snake's intellect. "_There is another speaker?"_

"_Yesss sspeaker_," it confirmed, whilst nodding its metal head.

"_What can you tell me of this other speaker?_" he hissed, finding the magical language on his tongue to be an enjoyable experience and deciding to interrogate the little snake for more information.

"_She rarely visits anymore, but she is smaller than you are speaker and has red hair," _the snake hissed back_, "That is all I can tell you speaker."_

"_That's fine_," He reassured with a smile, already knowing that this information was more than enough, after all, there were only a couple of red head girls in the school, before asking his next question. "_I seek the Chamber of Secrets_."

"_Then just speak 'open' and the Chamber entrance will appear_," the snake hissed back, almost smiling.

He looked over at his cousin who was watching him with interest. "Get ready," he voiced before hissing at the tap. "_Open_." Watching with amazement, the sink folded in on itself, before sinking into the floor. It revealed a dark hole in the floor, leading to deep beneath the castle it seemed, as cold damp air erupted from the opening, making him gag and reflexively cast an air refreshing charm.

"We found it Harry," Tonks expressed in awe, looking down the opening.

"We have," he quickly agreed with his own smile, bending down to examine the hole, noticing how dirty it was with mould and grime. "_Close_" He hissed, which sealed the chamber back up.

"We're not going to go down there?" Tonks asked in genuine surprise.

"We need an assured way to get back out first my dear. There's also a basilisk down there; so it seems a tad foolish to rush in. Besides, the snake on the tap gave us some useful information," he offered back, standing up. "We should go now and talk about this in private, somewhere else," his gut telling him to leave, after already spending so long in the bathroom.

"The Meeting Place?" Tonks asked back, her eyes looking at the sink.

"Sounds good," He quickly agreed, leaving the bathroom before they were detected.

Halfway to the meeting room, Tonks suddenly spoke up. "What did it say?" she asked.

"It gave me a basic physical description of the heiress," he offered back with a pleased smile, as Tonks froze mid-step, clearly trying to process this news.

"It's a girl?" Tonks pressed.

"Indeed," he confirmed with a sharp nod of his head. "And she has red hair and is shorter than me, so she's probably a young student, maybe a first or second year, maybe third year at the most. How many red haired girls do you know in that age range?" he asked with a cunning and satisfied smile.

"Only a couple," she answered back with her own smile. "And both of them are in Gryffindor, Ginny Weasley and Sally-Anne Perks."

As soon as they entered the hidden rooms, he collapsed on the leather sofa, looking over at his cousin. "You know what I find particularly funny? We are just students and we've made more progress in finding the Chamber in less than a year, than countless headmasters and headmistresses have done in centuries," he voiced with a smug smile. "This is going to look amazing on your application to join the Aurors, you know."

"Don't you have a detention tonight?" Tonks asked suddenly, out of the blue.

**Deputy Headmistress' Office – Friday Night.**

Hearing the firm knock on her office door, she looked up from the homework she was marking, wondering if she had forgotten a meeting with another professor, or if she had an assigned detention with a student. "Enter," she barked, whilst adjusting her glasses. As soon as the door opened she immediately noticed several students had gathered, flowing into her office like running water, the only house missing was her own Gryffindor house. Harry Potter led the pack, their uniforms all perfect, like they had all just been cleaned and ironed. She mentally groaned and asked, 'What now?' wondering if her lions had done something to alienate this well respected group of students, already having the feeling that something big was going to happen as she noticed several of them carrying parchment and books. 'Did I mark an essay wrong?' she asked herself as Miss Clearwater and Miss Tonks entered... what are those two doing here?'

"Professor, do you mind if we sit down? We have much to discuss with you in your official role as Deputy Headmistress this evening, as the headmaster isn't here." Lily's son asked formally, her mind jumped back to the end of last year and the following meeting at Gringotts Bank the previous summer. 'Severus had better not have caused another scandal.'

"Of course," she answered firmly, watching as the group arranged themselves in front of her like a court hearing at the ministry, with her unfortunately being the defendant, 'Am I on trial?' She noticed how Daphne Greengrass sat on Harry's left side with Padma Patil on Harry's right with Blaise Zabini sitting next to Daphne. Tracy Davis was sitting next to Blaise on the end, with the two older girls sitting directly behind Harry like bonded vassals. He was in the center, the focus and leader of the group. Whether this was a conscious positioning or not, she didn't know. "What is the nature of this discussion?" wanting to get some idea of what she was dealing with before hearing them out.

"The Chamber of Secrets," Miss Greengrass answered for the group. "Between our collective efforts we believe we have successfully located it. And have found evidence needed to clear Hagrid's name and who actually murdered Moaning Myrtle," the Slytherin answered easily, catching her interest. "We would like our respective heads of house here for this discussion."

"Do you believe that is necessary?" she asked, wanting to keep Severus away from this since his good judgement was often impaired around the young Potter.

"Yes, everyone here should be recognised for their part in this," Harry voiced on the group's behalf, as the rest of them nodded in agreement. She decided that she had no choice but to call for Severus since there was a trio of Slytherins involved.

"Give me a couple minutes to get a hold of them," she expressed whilst getting out of her chair, before walking over to her fireplace and calling the other heads of house. "They will be a couple of minutes," she offered back as she retook her chair, immediately noticing that the group's own chairs had been transfigured into different, complex designs whilst she was out of the room. Harry's was an imposing chair, similar to the headmaster's own, but darker and more elegant somehow, with his family's Coat of Arms engraved proudly in the dark wood. Padma and Penny's chair was something similar, but had the Ravenclaw crest and looked a bit more padded, similar to the ones in the Ravenclaw dorm rooms that she had seen. The Slytherin trio had similar elegant leather designs, but with their respective emblems. Tonks' chair was similar to Hufflepuff's own, but had the Black family crest proudly displayed in the woodwork. 'What the devil?' she mentally asked herself, wondering if this was some type of prank, before noticing a smile so similar to James Potter's own on Harry's face.

She very much wanted to ask the group when they had learned such advanced transfiguration skills; however, just before she could ask, the first of the professors arrived.

**An Hour Later**

"Tom M. Riddle you say?" she asked again, looking over the file that they had presented her with, finding its information rather startling, as well as impressive that a group of students could track down such detailed information on a long forgotten student. And how in the hell had they managed to get Auror reports? She passed the file onto Severus who had been awfully quiet while sitting in the background, observing the whole affair, giving the impression that he already knew some of it.

"Indeed, everything fits," Harry said firmly.

However, before she could ask her next question, Severus spoke up, causing her to mentally groan. "Potter," he spat. "Are you aware of just who Tom Marvolo Riddle actually is? Or the name he was truly known as?" the potion master probed, as Harry's eyes locked with the professor, before simply saying "No."

Shaking his head, "For someone so talented you missed something so obviously right in front of you," before flicking his wand in the air, the words _Tom Marvolo Riddle_ forming in a puff of smoke, before waving his wand again, rearranging the letters one at a time.

_I am Lord Voldemort, _the ghostly words hanging in the air, stunning the whole group, and herself into dead silence. "Tom Marvolo Riddle is Lord Voldemort," the gloomy potions master said firmly, before Harry smiled, like this was the answer to a question which had long been on his mind.

"Well, that explains it," Harry answered cheerfully, as he looked over the group.

**End of Chapter**


	35. Y2 Negotiations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 35: Negotiations **

**Posted 21th June 2013**

**Revised and****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

Pulling his heavy winter coat closer to his body, the exotic bear furs insulated him from the cold morning air as the Gryffindor chasers shot past him towards the Hufflepuff goal posts starting their counterattack. More than once he wished he had just stayed in bed, rather than venturing out to the Quidditch stands to watch the match. Despite the intensity of the unfolding game between the two houses, his mind was elsewhere, considering a matter of far greater importance which could have implications for perhaps the rest of his hopefully long, long life. Once again he was thinking about the suspected basilisk lurking deep beneath the school. Well, he _thought_ it was a basilisk, like he had told the staff, after all it did fit all the information he had available. And now that the staff knew that there was a basilisk beneath the school they would actively seek to remove it and the danger it represented.

After all, a basilisk simply couldn't be allowed to remain beneath the school; it was simply far too dangerous to keep such a deadly creature in such close proximity to a school full of curious children. Even if the staff didn't demand its removal, as soon as the information inevitably leaked out that the monster in the Chamber was a basilisk, parents and politicians would also want it removed.

He had no issue with this objectively; it was a perfectly reasonable expectation under the circumstances, as he agreed that you simply couldn't allow such a deadly creature to exist in such close proximity to a school full of kids. In all seriousness, the school had been awfully lucky so far that no one had died due to the recent attacks. But as a parselmouth it rubbed him the wrong way that the creature had to be destroyed, when it could be so useful in the _correct_ hands, rather than how it was currently being used for pitiful acts of terrorism... 'Terrorism' seemed the best term he could come up with to describe his collective feelings towards the chamber being opened, since the whole school was frightened of it.

"Gryffindor scores! 70 - 40," the announcer shouted as the lions' ranks rejoiced at their expanding lead for the Cup. Personally he didn't understand why they were celebrating like they were this early in the game. Physical exhaustion would start to kick in soon and the effects of minor injuries, making a thirty point difference a minor lead at best, which could easily be recovered in a couple minutes of play, especially when the snitch was worth 150 points by itself and could both end and win the game in an instant.

Turning his thoughts back to the massive snake under the school, he let his mind wander, seriously debating the merits of claiming the basilisk for himself, as it would be extremely useful as both a guardian and an economic asset. A basilisk was a highly magical creature, thought virtually extinct in the world. Who knows what kind of rare potions could be completed with its many parts, aged close to a thousand years...or potent ritual components? However there was one big problem, the heiress was still at large and likely in control of the creature.

Then there was the problem of getting past the now ever watchful staff and accessing the chamber again...

**Saturday Afternoon**

"Mr. Potter, please sit down," the headmaster asked politely with his grandfatherly smile firmly in place. As he entered the headmaster's office he wondered why he was suddenly being summoned here as he sat down in one of the available chairs, crossing one leg over the other, his hands folded on his lap as he waited for the headmaster to start this unexpected meeting. "Lemon drop?" the aged wizard offered.

"No, thank you," he declined easily. Who knew what they contained. "What is it you wished to see me about Headmaster?"

"Just to talk to you about the little fact that you can speak parseltongue," the headmaster replied smoothly, causing his heart rate to increase exponentially. "It was interesting to watch you solve that spell work on the tap, as well as how you deduced what was affecting your cousin," the headmaster said proudly. "But it was to be expected, you do take after your mother after all. No doubt if she was still alive she would have been attempting to solve the puzzle of the Chamber of Secrets as well."

He realized that the Headmaster wasn't bluffing, as the man knew too many fine details about his time in that bathroom. That meant that the old man had either been in the bathroom itself hiding under concealment magic, or was monitoring it through some magical means he didn't know about. This, of course, didn't mean that he was going to confirm the headmaster's statement. "That's an interesting tale, Headmaster," Harry replied easily, as the headmaster leaned back in his chair.

"Indeed," the headmaster replied. "Are you aware of what this is?" holding out a white glass orb for his inspection, about the size of a baseball.

"No, I'm not aware," he answered, wondering what the orb was.

"It's called a 'watcher orb.' It records everything in its range of view, a bit like a muggle security camera actually, especially when it's coupled with a proximity ward for activation," the headmaster boasted with amusement. "This one just happened to catch you and your cousin, and all that occurred there, in the girl's bathroom the other day."

"Quite fascinating," he admitted with his own dry amusement, making a mental note to look up and learn any spells created for privacy/security and any spells meant to defeat magical surveillance. Otherwise, he continued to play it cool, rather than panic at being discovered.

"Indeed, Alastor was the one who invented it after seeing security cameras in the muggle world, as well as looking for a means to replicate the usefulness of a 'watch skull' without the need for dark magic," the aged wizard explained. "As of yet, it is not in common use, nor widely known. This one here is actually a prototype I borrowed from my friend this past Christmas."

"I'd like to remind you that being able to speak parseltongue is no crime at all," Harry voiced. "Otherwise Heir Longbottom would be in jail right now, now wouldn't he?"

"True," the aged wizard agreed. "But there is always a stigma against those with the gift, whispers of darkness, of evil intentions."

"But whispers can be useful tools; fear can even discourage others from attacking you," Harry countered with ease getting into this game of verbal sparring. "Plus, many darker, older families, would look quite favourably on a person with such a precious gift. Besides, I can't be branded as dark without Neville also being branded."

"So true," the headmaster agreed, before drinking from his tea. "I wonder what type of effects this would have if it was common knowledge? How would trusted friends and allies react? What would become of one's delicate business ventures?"

"Nothing," Harry replied evenly, all the while considering the chances of successfully destroying the orb right here and now. However, even if he miraculously could get the drop on Dumbledore, how much of this might be a deception to learn from his reaction? Best to do nothing yet.

"You are not concerned about this?" the headmaster asked with surprise, patting the orb gently on the table.

"Not at all," Harry stated. "If such a recording existed, it could in truth be anyone. Magic provides so many easy ways to conceal and disguise oneself. That's just one of the many reasons why Aurors have such a difficult time catching dangerous magical criminals. Then there is the fact that this supposed recording was made with experimental magic at best, untested and unproven and therefore easily dismissible and lacking any credibility," he explained with his own smile at the obvious weaknesses in this accusation.

"Indeed," the aged wizard allowed before once again examining him closely with his sharp eyes, the two of them just waiting patiently for the other to speak first. "What I want to know is what information you talked about with your cousin."

"A physical description of the speaker," Harry voiced, as the headmaster's eyebrows shot up.

"Such information would be incredibly useful." The aged wizard voiced, as he looked at Harry again.

"Indeed. I heard that you were almost forced to resign over this business," Harry stated, recalling Rita's report from the previous evening that had prevented the headmaster from being at his normal meeting with the other heads of house, as well as hinting at the level of information he had in his possession. "Especially considering that Lord Malfoy is the true mastermind behind this plot."

"That's an interesting and dangerous accusation," the headmaster observed leaning forward in his chair.

"Nothing that _you_ haven't already concluded on your own," Harry countered. "He's the only one with both the means and the motive."

"It seems, once again, that I've underestimated you, Mr. Potter," the aged wizard admitted. "I'm sure you realize that it would be in your best interest as a student of Hogwarts to help assist in stopping such a murderous plot, rather than allow it to be completed. It's endangering other students' lives," he lamented, playing the guilt trip card.

"True, but I can simply transfer to another school," he voiced with amusement, watching the headmaster's forming frown at Harry's unwillingness to play ball and the failed attempts to blackmail him. "However, you are correct. I dislike Lord Malfoy, so I'll give you the description I have of the heir, in exchange for your silence and public recognition for me and my associates who helped discover the location of the Chamber of Secrets," the headmaster responded by sending him a disapproving frown.

"That is doable, but I have terms of my own," the headmaster countered, as he waited for the headmaster to state his demands. "You must return to potions with Professor Snape."

"_No_," he said firmly, having no desire to share a room with the potion's master for the next five years, especially after everything he'd done to escape the man.

"That is my condition," the Headmaster stressed, pressing the point.

"Then I'll have to respectfully decline," Harry expressed soberly, deciding to hold out for better terms. "Now if you're done trying to intimidate me, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my weekend." He rose from his seat to leave the office and thus signal the end of negotiations.

"I'm not done yet Mr. Potter, what would your price be for you to agree to return to potions?" the headmaster enquired, changing tactics.

"First, if I _did_ return, it would be at the start of the next school year, as it would be impolite to end my scholarship with my current potions instructor so abruptly. And I would return only on the condition that Professor Snape would treat me fairly and without bias. No insults, no negative remarks about my father, no incorrect grading, no sabotaging of my potions, nothing but pure professionalism would be accepted or tolerated. He could just ignore me if he wants," he stated. "_However_, if a single unprofessional word is spoken in my presence, I'll consider my part of any agreement we reach void and I will leave his class and again study potions with a tutor of my choice."

"That is reasonable," the Headmaster agreed.

"Hmm," he muttered as he considered what else he wanted. "I'd also like access to the restricted section of the library for the rest of my time at Hogwarts. This access is non–revocable even should you not fulfil your end of our agreement and it becomes void. It can only be revoked if I do something which can be classified as a major offense according to the Hogwarts Charter, and only then forfeiting the privilege," he put up his hand to forestall the headmaster's expected response. "We can negotiate how much actual access I have, and yes, you can monitor the books I borrow. I don't intend to look at anything dark, I just want to gain as much knowledge as I can from Hogwarts' impressive collection," he offered, to which the headmaster nodded to. "Second, I'd like a personal letter of recommendation from you for my cousin Tonks," catching the headmaster's interest at his second request.

"May I ask why Harry?" The headmaster asked, using his given name for the first time in this meeting, which Harry decided to ignore.

"It's quite simple. My cousin wishes to work in law enforcement, even if I think her talents would ultimately be wasted there. However, a personal recommendation letter from you would help her greatly," Harry voiced, wanting to help his cousin as much as he could even if he'd much prefer her to work for him. "We both know the ministry is sexist, with most female Aurors ending up in support roles at best," the headmaster neither voiced his agreement or disagreement at that.

He smiled at his idea for a final condition, one which would only benefit him if he could stay civil with the headmaster. He'd simply have to ignore the fact that the man had almost certainly stolen huge amounts of money from him and had, for over decade, utterly mismanaged his family's assets to the point of near ruin. This condition would greatly improve his understanding of magic and social prestige, especially if he leaked it, and would help to counter any future rumours of him being a parselmouth and thus a dark wizard. It also provided him a means to access the headmaster's office without suspicion, to possibly steal or study the orb in the future.

"The third and final condition would be two hours a week of private lessons from _you _until the end of the school year," the headmaster blinked a couple times at the unusual request. "These two hours can be spent either discussing magical theory, or its practical uses, or specific topics such as duelling," he explained, once again throwing the headmaster off balance at the condition.

"That is an interesting request," the headmaster voiced with a sly smile. "But my time is both highly demanded and precious," he offered back.

"Then _negotiate_, you are a _politician_," Harry countered, as the headmaster's lips twitched in amusement.

"Alright then, 1 hour a week. _I am a very busy man_," the Headmaster offered.

"3 hours a fortnight. You can choose the hours, but you give me two days notice so I can rearrange my schedule. _I am also a very busy man_," Harry counter-offered, his own sly smile forming on his lips at using the headmaster's own words against him.

"One day's notice," the aged wizard shot back.

"That is acceptable," he agreed.

"Why is it you want me to teach you?" The headmaster asked, clearly trying to understand him better.

He considered just how much to say, but eventually decided to go with a borderline truth. "You're arguably the most knowledgeable wizard in Britain and the most powerful, both magically and politically. I expect you would have a far deeper understanding of magic than I would find in most books, an understanding only gained from a lifetime of experience. You have also fought two dark lords and their respective followers, yet you are still alive, with all your limbs intact, unlike some of the very best Aurors around. So, there must be some aspect of your duelling style that is the secret to your success. I already have enemies who wish me dead; having access to that knowledge may improve my chances of surviving these encounters and living to adulthood. I would be a fool to ignore a chance to learn such secrets."

"I'm rather flattered by your glowing assessment of my abilities," the headmaster said whilst his eyes sparkled with energy and amusement. "That is one such way to get an apprenticeship with me."

He ignored the remark about an apprenticeship, since such a rumour would only benefit him in the long run. Well, as long as the Headmaster was considered a light wizard. "So what about my access to the restricted section of the library?"

"No dark arts books or anything illegal. You can take no more than 1 book a week out of the library on loan," the headmaster expressed.

"Three books," Harry countered. "I'm an extremely fast reader."

"Two," the Headmaster shot back with his own amused smile.

"Then we have an agreement," Harry voiced.

"So what did the snake guardian say?" The headmaster asked.

"I'd be happy to share what was said, as soon as our agreement is written up in a magically binding contract first," Harry expressed with his own smile, knowing better than to trust the old politician who had done so much harm to him and his family.

"Drawing up a magical contract will take time Harry, time we simply can't afford. Surely you understand that it's important to catch the heir as soon as possible, before anyone else gets hurt or even killed," the headmaster argued. "Surely you don't want someone to die," giving Harry a serious, questioning look.

"I'm sure you have the necessary contacts to quickly hire an Oathcrafter headmaster, if not I can always contact my account manager, I'm sure he'd willing to draw up a contract within good time," Harry pressed. "He does quite enjoy writing up a good binding agreement."

"How about a compromise then, a magical oath instead? It's more loose than even a standard magical contract, but far faster to perform," the headmaster suggested.

"That is acceptable," Harry agreed after a moment of thought.

The next ten minutes were filled with both parties hammering out the precise wording to be used in the oath, before the language of the magical vow was finally agreed upon between the two of them. It was not overly restrictive, but set up the agreed upon terms as effectively as possible, ensuring both parties understood and kept their parts of the deal. It included an agreed upon penalty of ten thousand galleons to be paid to the other in compensation should either fail to uphold their obligations under the agreement, rather than risk one's magic in penalty. Putting their wands together so that their tips were connected, magical energy slowly gathered between them, as they both spoke aloud their respective parts of the magical vow. When they finished both spoke in unison. "So mote it be!" Thus sealing their vow as completed, a flash of golden energy rushing over them like waves crashing on the shore. "First, the heir is not an heir, she is an heiress," making the headmaster blink in surprise. "Second, she has red hair and is shorter than I am. Only two girls meet that description and both of them are currently in Gryffindor. Ginny Weasley and Sally-Anne Perks," the headmaster visibly aged at this news.

"How accurate is this information?" the aged wizard asked.

"As accurate as any enchanted guardian's information can be," Harry voiced with amusement. "Then again, the heir could be using any number of concealment charms, or potions such as polyjuice to alter his or her form. But I doubt they would go to such lengths without a good reason to, how many people can talk to snakes after all?"

**Headmaster's Office**

"Severus, you can come out now," he spoke aloud, seemingly to the empty room, as soon as the young Mr. Potter left his office. At that the potions master removed the invisibility cloak he had been hiding under throughout his meeting with Harry.

"That was certainly interesting," Severus remarked, as he took a seat opposite to the headmaster's desk where Harry had just been sitting.

"Indeed. You were right, my friend, to advise me to approach the discussion like it was a transaction, like a business deal." He voiced with amusement, as he poured himself some more tea. It was kind of funny when he thought about it now, how Severus had a better understanding of the boy the man hated than he had.

"Potter is more of a Slytherin than most of my own house," the younger man voiced with a good measure of amusement and a just a hint of respect, as he poured a second cup of tea. "Almost literally."

"Indeed he is," the sorting hat suddenly and unexpectedly voiced, with its own amusement clear, speaking up for the first time in many months.

"Something to add?" he asked, wondering if the hat could provide him with greater insight into Harry's mind.

"No," the sorting hat replied, before promptly falling back to sleep.

"That was as informative as ever," Severus remarked with a good measure of dry sarcasm as he took the offered cup of tea from him. "Thank you."

"Do you believe that you will be able to work within Harry's terms?" he asked, as the younger man sipped his tea.

"I'll just have to ignore the boy," the younger man countered, as he rested his cup on the table. "However, I have an idea how we can handle next year or at least make the best of it, to handle this situation."

"Let's hear this scheme then," he requested, wondering what the younger man had in mind.

"The foreign exchange program next year and we're planning to send some of our best and brightest students to represent the school abroad. Filius will almost certainly put forward Potter's name from his own house to act as ambassador for the school, so why not send him? He will only be here for about 4 weeks in total the whole entire school year, and that will include only 12 potions lessons. We can get rid of him for virtually the entire year, postponing any issues with this agreement for the year and getting the governors off your back about the whole issue. With the Tri-Wizard Tournament in full swing the next year they'll be far too busy posing for cameras to look any closer into potion lessons," Severus suggested.

"An interesting proposal. I'll certainly consider it," he voiced, reconsidering his original plans for getting Remus close to the lad by offering him the DADA position. "Or do you just want to get rid of Ravenclaw's star seeker?"

"Quidditch has nothing to do with this," Severus countered.

"If you say so my friend," he muttered, while giving the potion master a curious look; he knew all too well that Severus was both extremely competitive and proud of his house. "You're not going to ask me why I agreed to give him private lessons?" He wondered if the potions master already knew his reasoning, or perhaps just didn't care. Probably both, but it did worry him if _that_ was the case, as that meant the potion master understood how his mind worked far too well for comfort.

"You have been looking for a means to understand him since the start of the year. This gives you the perfect chance to get your claws into him," Severus voiced dryly, as he studiously ignored the remark about claws. "You have also been going on and on about trying to recruit him to play a part in your plans; trying to get another pawn to support your knight, your champion. The lessons also serve as an opportunity to hopefully use him to bridge the gap between you and his godfather, the Lord Black, hoping that it will improve your relationship with Sirius, since your pet dog hasn't helped you out at all on that front."

He ignored that remark about Remus, "You disapprove, my friend?" he asked.

"I don't disapprove at all, it's quite logical. And it's also a tactic you've used many times before to recruit or create friendships with talented people. I just don't believe that it will work in this case," the younger man countered with an uncaring shrug. "You keep trying to think of him as just another student, a child caught up with your legend, but he doesn't care for any of that; he _sees_ you for what you truly are. At the moment he is indifferent to you, doesn't care what happens to you; in fact I suspect that he is only helping you right now because you're the lesser of two evils. Even with your attempt at blackmail, he saw through it, saw what it was and ultimately how weak it was and then manipulated the situation to actually gain something valuable out of it. You never intended to discuss terms."

"I'd hardly call it _blackmail_, my boy," he defended. "I was simply trying to both encourage him to see the bigger picture and to do the right thing."

"Blackmail is blackmail, no matter how you justify it to yourself," Severus countered, with his own amused smile at the situation. Being able to lecture the old fool for once on morality was both ironic and quite the treat. "And he will remember that. Next time he will be even more prepared for your tactics. Do you want me to locate this 'meeting place' of theirs by the way?"

"Yes, if you could," he agreed, taking the offered chance to change the uncomfortable subject. "What do you make of Mr. Potter's information?"

"Better than we had before. Now we only have a couple of suspects, rather than the whole school worth and even the confirmed main entrance to the Chamber of Secrets," Severus answered, as he sipped at his cooling tea. "However, I'm putting my money on the Weasley girl being involved. Lucius would enjoy staining her family's name and indirectly yours at the same time. You know as well as I do that the two families have had a silent feud going on between them for decades. It's common knowledge you have close ties with the family, two birds with one stone in his mind I'm sure. It would most likely result in her father losing his job at the ministry if his daughter was found out to be involved."

"Indeed, it could be an issue," he voiced, already knowing the family's main source of income was from Arthur's job. The loss of that would be devastating to them. "I think it's time we talked to Miss Weasley. Given the nature and seriousness of the situation, it would be understandable if we used veritaserum."

"Indeed. If we're wrong, worst case, we can simply obliviate her and erase the whole meeting from her mind," the potion master offered as solution.

"Now who has questionable morality?" he shot back with a grin.

"Never said I didn't, it's quite the advantage for a dark wizard, you should try it sometime," Severus retorted with a small smirk. "Besides, I am sure you can persuade Molly to understand why such extreme measures were necessary."

"Right you are my friend," he replied, greatly enjoying this banter with someone who understood what was required to serve the greater good. "I'll bring Fawkes too; never know when he might be of assistance."

"Just great, now you're bringing the overgrown turkey," Severus muttered not too quietly.

"Don't let Fawkes hear you say that," he advised with a good measure of humour.

**Midnight Gold**

**Wales – Aberdyfi **

'What to do? What to do?' Peter kept asking himself as he stalked around the cheap room he had rented for the night. He was desperately trying to find a solution to the worsening situation he found himself in. He walked into the bathroom and ran some water and started to splash some cold water onto his face. 'Damn, I look terrible,' he thought, as he looked upon his tired features, heavy black bags easily visible beneath his eyes with his skin pale and worn from stress. His hands automatically turned off the taps.

Entering the bedroom, he took a moment to take off his battered, travel worn robes, leaving him in nothing but a dirty vest and moth eaten underwear, before collapsing on the old single bed in the room. Reaching for his money pouch, which had been growing steadily lighter after several months of continuously running from Aurors and bounty hunters with no source of income, he pulled the cord and poured the contents onto the bed. His heart sank even further as he realized just how financially screwed he was at the sight of the small pile of gold pieces, which he carefully set about counting.

He knew that it wouldn't be enough; he was essentially almost bankrupt after all and with no gold he had little hope of maintaining his freedom from the law. 'How did it end up like this?' he asked himself, trying to understand where it all went wrong. 'Longbottoms,' was the single word that jumped immediately to mind, as he remembered that fateful Halloween where his life had been turned upside down. That Halloween night which had looked so promising, only to turn to ash with the Dark Lord's unexpected fall.

He remembered the overwhelming pride that the Dark Lord had selected him to accompany him on his personal mission to wipe out the Longbottom family, mostly due to his understanding of their defences and the wards recognising him as friendly. Bellatrix instead lead the attack against the Potters, again, thanks to _his_ information. He shook his head once again; he truly missed his old friends. Years of isolation and self-reflection had made him realize that truth at least; and now, looking at a lifetime of imprisonment or worse, he was truly sorry for his betrayal, even if it had been to save his own hide.

Rationally he could tell himself that he did only what was necessary to live another day, but his gut kept telling him otherwise, as he remembered all the people he had sacrificed for his own life. He looked down at the faded dark mark on his arm; any hope he had of sheltering with anyone besides the dark lord for protection was a pipe-dream. "What to do?" He asked the room aloud, as he looked out of the window, the dark clouds suiting his depressed mood as the first raindrops loudly hit the window.

Looking back down the alley, he saw sudden movement. Four individuals in auror uniforms were heading in his direction. Looking down the other end of the alley he saw another group of four approaching; he realized that they were probably here for him. "Shit," he muttered as he rushed to put his clothes back on. After all he may be a traitor, but he wasn't going to be stunned and bound in his underwear; he did have some semblance of pride remaining! All this quickly went through his mind as he quickly stuffed a leg into his trousers, just to realize that he had put the limb in the wrong trouser leg and then promptly fell to the floor in an undignified heap!

**Monday**

Chewing on his bacon as he read the Monday morning paper, he thought the Prophet articles this morning to be rather dull and boring, before he felt a light weight sit down next to him on the wooden bench. "Good morning cuz," Tonks greeted as she helped herself to the food on his plate with a spare fork.

"Good morning," he responded, refusing to show any irritation at having his breakfast shamelessly stolen, before drinking from his glass of pure orange juice.

"Have you heard?" Tonks asked as she next pinched a sausage off his plate, before biting into it.

He valiantly resisted the urge to make a sex joke about sausages and Tonks' fondness for them, "Heard what? You'll have to be a bit more specific my dear," he expressed, before folding the paper and putting it away in his backpack, to later read in History of Magic.

"Ginny Weasley went home sick; turns out that she contracted a rare case of the blue pox on Sunday and had to be quarantined immediately until she was declared non-contagious," Tonks offered, before taking a second bite.

"No, I hadn't heard," he offered back, slipping deep into thought at the news and the removal of one of his prime suspects for the heiress of Slytherin. "Convenient timing, given the chat I just had with the Headmaster after Saturday's Quidditch match."

She gave him a knowing smile at his remark. "I thought the same," Tonks voiced in agreement as she stole a piece of buttered toast off his plate, slowly getting on his nerves as more of his carefully chosen breakfast was stolen. "Cover story?" She asked quietly.

"More than likely. The Weasleys are close supporters of Dumbledore and friends with Longbottom. It would look bad on both of them, and indirectly all of the "light" political faction in the Wizengamot, if news got out of her involvement," he agreed, returning to his meal. Over the next quarter of an hour more students filed into the Great Hall for their morning breakfast, most were busy discussing the weekend Quidditch results, both the school's and national, such as Hufflepuff beating Gryffindor. Others were talking about letters from home, others were just plain gossiping.

"Attention, your attention please," the deputy Headmistress called out to the Great Hall, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's time for morning announcements. First, as some of you may already know, Ginny Weasley came down with a case of blue pox on Sunday. Due to the serious nature of her condition she has been removed from the school for the rest of the term, she should be back after Easter," he sent a meaningful look at his cousin who nodded back. "Given the nature of this illness, Madam Pomfrey has asked me to hand out medical leaflets so that you are aware of the warning signs," the deputy headmistress stressed, her eyes scanning the Great Hall. "However, given your youthful penchant to ignore such educational leaflets, the warning signs are tiredness, despite having proper sleep, high temperature, a cold, and your magic being more difficult to control. I know some of you will use this as an excuse to skip lessons, but this is a serious condition, which can cost you both your life and magic if left untreated. So, _please,_ take this seriously. If you have any doubts, please go to the school nurse for an examination," she finished with that, before waving her wand and a leaflet appeared in front of each of them.

He noticed the feline grin on the headmistress' face, "Of course, with the temptation to avoid lessons and hard work, you will need a medical note to miss any classes. If you do not have an official note then I and the other teachers must assume that you are skipping and we will assign you 3 hours of detentions, with an additional hour each time after. Professor Snape has already agreed to oversee these detentions," before sending a pointed looked at her own table. "Naturally, if you want to wish Miss Weasley a quick recovery, please ask her brothers for their home address. That is all."

Turning back to his breakfast, Tonks spoke up again, "Do you know what's up with Penny yet?" looking up the table towards the older girl who again had chosen not to sit near Harry.

He sighed, before looking up the table to his errant friend. "Nope, you?" he admitted.

"You should just say sorry," Tonks expressed with a shrug. "Take it from a girl; it only gets worse the longer you wait."

"I don't know what I'm meant to be sorry for!" he countered with annoyance. He would be willing to apologize if he knew exactly what he had done, he would even lie and say that he was sorry, but he didn't know what he had supposedly done. Even a fake apology without that rather crucial information seemed destined for failure. He also made a mental note to talk to Rita to begin an investigation into Ginny Weasley, to find out whether she was the one responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets. Truthfully, it was his Ravenclaw nature coming through, the desire to know everything... 'I still need to work on deploying those mirrors,' he admitted, knowing he had been distracted from implementing that plan. Even if the information potential was unlikely to be much, he would learn a great deal in the implementation alone.

**Ministry of Magic – ****Wizengamot**** Chamber**

Damn, he hated this part of his freedom, the need to play the part of an almighty Lord of a Most Ancient and Noble house and listen to pompous speeches from opposing factions who couldn't agree that water was wet without intense debate. The current topic was debated backwards and forwards and across and diagonally on the Wizengamot floor. This was magical politics at its worst; it wasn't arguing the point, or constructing the most effective argument on policy with hard facts, it was effectively grownups bitching, moaning, and exchanging petty insults, some subtle and some not. "Bored, Lord Black?" Lord Greengrass enquired quietly, leaning in so that they weren't overheard by the other Lords around them.

"Indeed, I feel like I'm in detention actually, being punished for my latest prank," Sirius expressed with a tired sigh, sensing Nicholas' grin through his closed eyes.

"I wouldn't know anything about detentions. I never allowed myself to get caught," Nicholas offered with a smirk, as the two parties on the floor in front of them continued to argue over the proposal.

"Of course you wouldn't," he snarked back with a mischievous smile as the arguing in front of them got even more intense.

A loud boom sounded through the room as a sound like a cannon echoed through the courtroom, silencing the two debaters and the loudly bickering parties in the tiered seats as the Chief Warlock stood up in his high box. "That is the end of the time allotted for debate on this topic. Since there was no agreement, the vote will be postponed," the headmaster of Hogwarts said with some amusement as none too quiet groans echoed throughout the legislative chamber. "The debate will be continued in two weeks time, on Friday afternoon," the elderly wizard concluded.

"I'll be sick that day," Sirius muttered under his breath, knowing that he wasn't alone with that plan after listening to such tedious debate for the last three hours.

"I wouldn't if I you," Nicholas offered sagely. "The Chief Warlock generally uses such unimportant seeming debates as distractions, to discourage people from attending that particular assembly, whilst his own people turn up in force and a more important topic is brought to the floor and fast tracked. With all his people in attendance, a quorum will be had and Dumbledore will then call for a vote. His people will force the vote to happen immediately, whilst opposition numbers are low."

"That's really sneaky," Sirius offered, trying to wrap his mind around the tactic. "Any idea what the matter is?" he asked the far more experienced political operator.

"No, it might not even be his own piece of legislation, but another faction's that he wishes to undermine, without appearing to," Nicholas offered, running a hand through his blonde hair, pushing it away from his face. "By the way, Cynthia was wondering if you were available to come around for dinner this Sunday evening."

He considered the offer for a couple of seconds before deciding to accept. "Sure," he voiced with an easy smile. He was no fool, he knew that Nicholas was using him to increase his own faction's standing, but it was a fair exchange as it offered Sirius the same in return, as well as a chance to learn the ins and outs of current Wizengamot politics, like who was in who's pocket, etc. Plus, Nicolas' food and wine was always good.

**Midnight Lord**

**Thursday**

"So Harry, have you made any progress in finding your animagus form? Or have you finally given up and will just take the potion like everyone else," Sirius asked with a smile, as the two of them sat down over a delicious pot roast for lunch in the Leaky Cauldron, before heading to their next series of afternoon meetings.

Chewing his food, the richly prepared meat danced over his taste buds setting them alight with pleasure. He wondered if his new found fondness for rare meat was from his recently discovered animagus form, or whether it was merely the natural effects of going through puberty and his body needing increasing amounts of protein to fuel his slow transition to adulthood. He considered how he should reply to this question, "Actually I have," he offered with a sly smile. "You owe me 9 lives now by the way," before taking another bite whilst watching Sirius cough and choke on his food.

"You're a cat?" his godfather exclaimed in excitement, to the point that Sirius' over the top reaction would have attracted sharp looks from the other nearby patrons, if it weren't for the privacy ward that they had erected around the table prior to their meal. His dogfather finally gave him a doggish grin, one filled with mischief. "Oh what fun I'll have chasing you around," the dog animagus boasted, while eyeing him like prey. "To think, I'll have my own little professor McGonagall to chase around all summer."

Keeping his own smile at bay, he decided not to correct Sirius' mistaken idea that he was a normal, household cat, and opted to play his own prank on his godfather. "If you say so," he replied indifferently whilst internally grinning at Sirius taking the bait, now he couldn't wait to successfully transform and terrify the old dog. 700 pounds of tiger would surely leave a strong impression. "Any progress with the locket?" he said, changing topics.

"No, the cursebreakers are rather stumped. In fact they have no way of breaking the enchantments without destroying the locket itself," Sirius replied with a smile. "It's became quite a game for them, not that the goblins are pleased, they pride themselves on having the best curse breakers in Europe and this is a stab against their egos. Plus they don't like failing a contract, because they will have to pay us for a change due to the penalty clause," a massive grin forming on his face. "It's not a large amount, mind you, but still any gold they're paying out they're not happy about."

"I guess they wouldn't be," Harry acknowledged, finding the whole situation rather funny. "Have you decided on our holiday plans yet?" before digging into his greens.

"In the middle of arranging it," Sirius answered between mouthfuls. "I'm thinking a week in China, before heading to Korea for another week, then Japan, and then back home. Three weeks in total. We can easily fit it in between the moon cycles, so Remus can join us for our summer adventure. We'll have a great time together and you can meet the real Remus, before he joins you at Hogwarts for next year and has to play the part of a stern teacher."

"Well thought out," he admitted, ignoring the remark about Remus. "This time, let's learn the translation charms beforehand, _please_. I'll start looking for my own when I get back to the school."

"You're not going to allow me to forget that are you?" Sirius voiced with a tired, long suffering sigh.

"Nope, especially if you forget again even with all my nagging," he pressed.

"You sound like my mother," Sirius countered with another sigh.

He resisted the automatic impulse to say, 'such a nice lady,' since that was a totally inaccurate statement from everything he knew of the former Lady Black. He instead chose to return to eating his food, letting his godfather have his little victory in this verbal duel. It was also time to deal with another issue. Now that the manipulative and blackmailing headmaster knew that he was a parselmouth it would be much better to inform his godfather sooner, rather than later, when it could possibly be used against him. It just didn't make sense to keep it a secret any longer from Sirius. There was a risk that the old man would tell Remus after all, who could in turn tell Sirius in an attempt to undermine their relationship; he would just have to trust Sirius. "Sirius," he said, grabbing the man's attention, "I can speak parseltongue," he stated as his godfather's jaw dropped in response to this unexpected news, which unfortunately had the undesirable effect of the older wizard spitting his food at him when he exclaimed "What!" in surprise and obvious shock.

"Sorry," Sirius offered back sheepishly, as Harry slowly cleaned his face with a napkin, removing the traces of food his godfather had just spat at him, before he pushed his half eaten meal to one side now that it had been tainted with Sirius' spit.

"Yeah, you sure are, I was enjoying that pot roast," he expressed with a minor frown. "Now I smell like dog saliva."

"So you can speak parseltongue?" Sirius probed, ignoring Harry's remarks.

"I just said that," Harry snapped in annoyance, before clamping down on his emotions with his occlumency.

"No joke? James said something similar as a joke in 6th year," Sirius asked carefully, as a passing waiter took the offered plate from Harry.

"Do you really think I'd joke about something like this? Given what is happening around Hogwarts right now?" Harry shot back, annoyed at his godfather's question, whilst mentally processing the possibility that his father might have had the gift as well.

"Now that I think about it more rationally, no," Sirius offered with his own look of embarrassment. "When did you find out about this little talent of yours?"

"Christmas actually, the day that I picked up supplies for Serenity. That was probably one of the reasons why I snapped at Remus," he offered to the older wizard whilst nursing his drink. "I was tempted to buy a snake right then, but thought better of it given the current climate at school. And yes, Tonks already knows," his godfather winced at this statement, for whatever reason, but most likely because he had told his cousin first, rather than Sirius. "However, this did lead to us finding the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, so the staff now knows where it is and are watching it for any activity. And I think they already caught the one responsible actually. We're meant to be getting a school award in the near future in acknowledgement of our efforts."

"That's good," Sirius voiced with a smile.

"Yes, one less headache to worry about. Although I don't plan on telling anyone about my ability until this Chamber of Secrets business is a distant memory, as I can't really be bothered having to put up with the whole school treating me like some type of leper overnight," he admitted before drinking some of his honey brew. "Now I've just got to concern myself with Pettigrew and my hundred other ongoing projects. At least with the map in my possession now, I can check my routes so that he can no longer ambush me in the hallways."

"Yeah, Peter knows the secrets passages all over the school, the map has most of them. There's no reason why you can't try to ambush him using the map yourself," the former marauder offered back.

"Good idea," Harry agreed with his own smile. "By the way, you said I should come to you for advice on women and you've given great advice in the past, so what do you do when a girl is mad at you, but you have no ideas what you've done wrong?"

"Either be more stubborn than them and wait it out, or get into a heated argument which you end by pulling them into a kiss, before having hot and rough make-up sex," Sirius advised with a smirk as Harry rolled his eyes realizing that Sirius was being a goofball again. "Or you could just say that you're sorry, give them a peace token and listen to whatever lecture they give you and just nod in agreement, thereby learning what it was you did in the first place. During the lecture say several variations of 'yes, you're right dear,' and repeatedly apologize all without sounding patronizing. Just remember that women can hold a grudge for a long time, so whatever you do they will still remember it thirty years down the line anyways, even if it was totally pointless and illogical in the first place. Simply put, you just can't win with them, but you can pick your battles and minimize the damage."

"If you say so," Harry expressed, just thinking on Sirius' words of wisdom. The man was truly a genius when it came to practical advice on women. "How long do we have until our meeting with the architects?"

"We've got another half an hour yet," Sirius offered after looking at his pocket watch.

Nodding, "I'd like to pop by my vaults after we're done," Harry expressed.

"Any reason?" Sirius asked.

Deciding it would be best to be honest, "My mother left her private school notes there. I was going to take them in my first year, but decided against it as I lacked any knowledge to understand it at the time. I would like to take a look now," he expressed.

**Howard, Deveraux, and Oglethorpe Magical Designs and Constructions**

His ambitious plans for his family's docks were moving forward with unanticipated swiftness, with the finalization of numerous designs during this meeting. Soon construction efforts would begin on the docklands and the connecting alleys he now owned entirely, bringing new life into the abandoned area whilst hopefully lining his family's pockets with ridiculous amounts of gold for centuries to come. Smiling to himself, he looked over the plans for the reconstruction of magical Edinburgh, which continued to make him smirk in hidden glee at the sheer scale of his plans. It was pure Slytherin ambition coupled with legendary Gryffindor boldness rolled together in one colossal project requiring a ton of Hufflepuff style hard work and tenacity. All executed with the rational and logical mindset of a consummate Ravenclaw at the helm. The founders would have been so proud.

He was effectively building a magical town and cultural centre according to his own design, all shaped around the idea of pure profit and logic. Yes, he was considering the project as a 'town.' To magical Britain's ancient standards this may as well be considered a giant city. After all, it was not a single house, or small retail shop he was rebuilding, but rather an entire magical community he was creating from the ashes of violence and war. The whole project would take just under a quarter of a decade to complete; 2 years on the earlier side, maybe 1 and half if he was extremely lucky and he was able to win over or crush the inevitable opposition.

The first stages of construction would centre around the building of sorely needed magical housing, roughly 160 houses to start. These could be rented out right away, providing a steady income stream, whilst at the same time using the revenue to rebuild the primary shopping districts to cater to the needs of the area's burgeoning population. Then the second stage of construction would begin, with the construction of a second wave of 200 houses being built in other pockets of land he owned spread out amongst non-magical Edinburgh, along with the opening of the higher end retail stores and services, such as an upper end hotel he planned to open in the more refined area of the city. This hotel would hopefully cater to international business travellers and tourists, as well as host events in its multiple extravagant ballrooms, such as weddings, parties, business conferences and conventions, etc...

Of course, the docks themselves would be undergoing construction during the first stages, due to the length of time they would require to complete. Finally, the last stage would be the remaining pockets of land being built upon; mainly housing, adding another 75 houses to the fold, bringing the total number up to 435 houses. Naturally the later plans could be altered and changed if need be, since it was only a rough plan he had made with sound advice provided by Bloodmoon and Sirius.

Examining the proposed plans for the Potter Dockyards once again in detail, he saw that the team of magical architects had improved upon the original designs and had added an additional pier to the docks, taking the total number up to 5 piers for ships to moor and load and unload their valuable cargo. Hopefully the legacy piers' foundations would still be intact, or could at least be salvaged and repaired, thus helping to cut down on costs rather than beginning anew. Naturally, they would have to be modified and the harbour would most likely have to be dredged to remove debris from the seafloor, as well deepen the harbour for larger modern vessels. The ward stones buried on the sea floor would also have to be examined thoroughly, to check that they still had full functionality after so many years. Hopefully the magically grown and hardened crystal ward stones, used most often for anchoring large scale, long-term wards, would still remain in good condition and they could be added upon to take into account new ward schemes and recent magical developments rather than having to totally replace them. Using the existing ward stones would significantly reduce the total cost as well as maintain the complex net of muggle repelling wards and illusions which hid the magical harbour and the entire area from detection by the muggles.

Then there was the creation of a dry dock for magical ship construction, repair and maintenance, which was something he had originally overlooked when considering the redevelopment of the area and the docks, giving him a new market to enter that the Potters had never historically engaged in. Considering his expansion of the Docks and his plans to become a magical shipping powerhouse worldwide, it would be a good fit long-term.

The dry docks could be magically expanded to fit the necessary dimensions of each individual ship being worked upon, as long as there was enough space for the magic to work. In addition, weather dampening and redirection wards were placed over the work area, to help lessen the effects of negative weather and allowing the crews to work year round. So in winter, the snow would be mild. The wards would redirect the extra snowfall away from the work area into neat piles, whilst rain would be redirected to magical drains, helping to keep the site effective. In summer, the wards would help redirect the wind, helping to cool the site. The snow could also be used for cooling and maintaining the temperature in warehouse units specializing in goods, which required cold temperatures, such as potions and ingredients, rather than just relying on the stasis charm.

Naturally to support this new business venture on the Potter lands, two new supporting buildings had been designed for the exclusive use of the ship construction business connected together in a massive L shape, essentially wrapped around the dry dock itself. One building was meant to be a warehouse for storing materials for construction and repair works, such as the basic lumber and tar. The other connected building besides it, was to act as a workshop for the magical craftsmen. The dry dock would have a built in ramp for launching ships into the water once work was completed. Above the main construction floor were the official offices and conference rooms for management and meeting with customers and supporting areas for the work crews, such as washrooms, a common diner/lounge for shift breaks to help keep the skilled work force happy and content. The yard manager offices for team leaders would also be located there, so they wouldn't have to cross through the main retail areas, effectively isolating that half of the docks business at the far end of the docklands away from the public streets and shops, but could also use the internal floo system to move about the various buildings and property quickly. Thus the dry dock's day-to-day operations and personnel wouldn't interfere with the rest of the dockland's shipping operations. To help maximize space, spatial expansion wards and charms would be applied to the two buildings, tripling their internal volume from a 60 by 60 metre workroom, to a 180 by 180 metre work area.

Of course, this came at the cost of tying up land capable of holding roughly 25 houses and their corresponding rents, but he considered it a fair exchange for gaining access to an additional market with such long-term potential. The dry dock would give him another tool to help market the docks and win business in maintaining small to large sized vessels coming into the dock. It would give him quite the competitive advantage over his competitors as he had confirmed that no one else offered such joint services. It was a certainty that ships would need repair work after a time, even with magic. Magic after all can make them more durable, but eventually a repair charm just wouldn't cut it anymore.

Then there were the main shipping docks, which had been the bread and butter of the Potter coffers for centuries. This area was coupled with three newly redesigned 100 metre by 50 metre rectangular warehouses for holding goods. One building would be an isolated, high security warehouse for extremely valuable/volatile goods and commodities being temporarily held by the dock's customers. The three warehouses were each divided into three floors for storage. According to the current plans the basement would be for heavy goods, and for items that needed specific environmental conditions, which would be created by specific weather charms and ward schemes. The second floor would be for lighter goods and the top floor would be light-weight consumer goods. The short-term goods held in storage would be put at the front of the warehouse for easy access, with long-term goods being put at the back of their respective areas.

Of course strengthening charms and wards liberally applied to the buildings' structural framework would help support such heavy loads, should they need to be placed on the upper floors due to a lack of space, but gravity still needed to be taken into account and was still doing everything it could to tear down structures if they were unsound, even magically created and maintained ones. So it was easier and would put less strain on the structures and wards if a healthy dose of muggle logic was applied with the arrangement of the goods. Hopefully this would translate to an extended lifespan for the wards and structures, and significantly reduced long term maintenance costs and magic to power the wards themselves, thus resulting in greater profits and site productivity. That was one useful thing he picked up from his cursed uncle's ranting. Time was money in business. You always looking for ways to make the business more efficient and effective; lower overall expenses meant greater profits.

Turning to the designers, a question formed on his lips, "Do these warehouse designs take into account that my customers may be shipping and need to store live animals and magical creatures?"

"They do," the first designer replied with a sharp nod of his head. "The warehouses are designed to be capable of securing and maintaining any ICW Class Four-X rated magical beast. Further modifications would have to be made for anything more dangerous, and would be extensive, but it's certainly doable with enough time and money."

"Good. I don't foresee needing the capability for Class Five-X creatures, but it's good to know it's possible if needed in the future," Harry replied as he looked back at the plans. The high security warehouse was designed to make use of individually lockable sections, with elaborate private security wards for each customer, capable of personalization, with several highly trained guards and magical creatures watching over the contents of the high-security warehouse as a whole. In short, they were like vaults, but ones that he could charge a hefty premium for and guarantee a steady revenue source. If the customer was willing to pay for extra security they could even select their own creature guardian for their vault alone, from a selection he'd provide them. Of course, he would be keyed into every vault's base ward template, no matter what changes they made, in case they needed to be accessed for whatever reason. The closeness to the docks themselves would be particularly appealing to his customers he thought. Of course, there would be space expansion charms liberally added to all the structures, increasing their total storage many times over. In fact the expansion possibilities were dependent only on the amount of magic pumped into the permanent runic enchantments. Very few places could support a great deal of expansion on a permanent basis as the magical energy needed daily was simply too much, but his Potter ancestors had specifically chosen the dock's location many centuries ago due mostly to it being located right on top of an intersection of three ley lines.

Next to this building was the Ministry Customs office, where goods could be inspected and any relevant taxes and tariffs paid, as well as where his own people would operate from to monitor the warehouses' incoming goods and to ensure the Ministry acted in accordance with the law themselves and the treaty with the Potter family signed centuries ago granting them the docks and favourable rates for their customers. The Ministry was well known for its corruption and infiltration during the war and thus they would be closely watched by Potter personnel. Connected to the Customs Office, but with planned wards preventing Ministry personnel from entering without escort, was a rather impressive three story security building, designed barracks, training rooms, sleep area, and small infirmary for the security staff. It was meant to coordinate security for the entirety of the Potter lands, including the docks, dry dock, retail and residential sectors as well the entertainment district. From this building all the extensive wards and protection magics on the Potter lands could be monitored and controlled. The surveillance charms around the Potter lands would also eventually feed into here, but control and override functions would also be placed in his own private office in the nearby Manor.

However, unlike his office, the security building would also house several holding cells for criminals, such as smugglers, until ministry Aurors could arrive, investigate and remove them. The holding cells would also be perfect for drunks and other disorderly patrons on the Potter lands. Of course, the cells would have the best security features possible for a short-term holding facility. He certainly wasn't building a jail to hold people long-term. It would also be used for a holding area for any unauthorized individuals accessing the site, such as members of the public trying to apparate to a location other than the public apparition point or use the private staff floo entrance rather than the main gate. The planned wards would indentify staff members by their pre-recorded magical signatures, just like the wards that worked around a household, but would instead reroute unauthorized persons to a holding cell for processing, where a sleeping enchantment would be placed immediately and automatically over the cell's occupant inducing a deep sleep from which they would not awake until someone with the requisite authority woke them up by disabling the enchantment. Naturally all magical items would be automatically stripped from them and shunted aside into a magically isolated stasis chamber for examination or destruction by security. Subduing a criminal on his property could be as easy as placing a touch portkey on the person in question which would immediately drop them into the holding cells.

Then there was the primary operations center, located next to the main security offices, meant to control the day-to-day operations of the site, where the shipping activities would be coordinated, where the work crews would receive their orders, which ships would be designated as priority, where to unload/load cargo, etc. It would also hold the site's administration, and all the other staffing requirements for running an active business like accounting, HR, and the like, with a connected floo terminal and apparition point for employees.

Finally there was the main gate house, the main entrance to and from the dock area, with a high brick wall around the perimeter which would be protected by numerous wards against damage and magical transportation, separating the dock area from the shopping, entertainment and residential districts, with a small gate house down at the other end of the site at the dry docks for the facility's staff to use in entering and leaving the work area and transitioning to the shopping district.

Looking up from the plans, he looked over to the senior designer, a grey breaded wizard, wearing rich purple robes. "Have professional warders been consulted in the creation of all these plans? Because one of my requirements for any designs was its ability to be properly secured, both in general terms as well as violent attack. These docks were destroyed by dark wizards before; I want to ensure that that never happens again." He stated firmly, giving the designers a sharp look, making sure that they understood just how serious he was about the matter.

"Absolutely. We have two master level warders on our payroll and they both participated in the creation of the designs we're showing you today. While these designs aren't meant to act as a comprehensive security and warding plan for your docks and lands, the designs keep security concerns firmly in mind. An auror with wartime experience also consulted with us on these designs, using the ward scheme of three 7's," the designer replied. The only thing he could do was nod, he had no idea what that ward scheme was, but he would look it up, as well as begin looking for a team of independent warders to check the planned wards. Hopefully they could also discreetly add to them, expanding the site's defences.

"Good, now what about the plans for the small city manor for my family?" he asked them as the trio of designers went through the papers, looking for their designs. Looking over to his godfather, "What do you think about all this, Sirius?" wanting a second opinion.

"It looks great Harry," Sirius offered after consulting the designs as the requested Manor house was set up on the easel for easy viewing. "It keeps the traditional elements of the old docks, but its bigger and grander... more impressive and it looks like it's designed with possible expansion in mind. I'm sure that's what you're going for. However I would commission some artisans and sculptors, seemingly decorative statues in the gardens and gargoyles on the roof can easily be magically hardened, animated, and charmed to act as deadly physical guardians. Maybe even commission some guard statues like they have at Hogwarts. Better looking than guard trolls and less smelly too; you also don't need to feed them which is a big plus in my book." "Thanks for the suggestion. I plan for this to last and this way I can always expand the site without having to close it down," he stated with a smile before accepting the new plans. "Thank you for your hard work gentlemen," he said to the designers. Looking at the new plans, the house wasn't like a traditional family mansion or manor house found in the countryside; instead it only took up two and half plots, where houses would have otherwise been. It had a nice stone wall with elaborate gardens, water features and statuary circling the house adding to its grandeur as well as providing a buffer zone for security and privacy.

The manor backed up onto docks with amazing panorama views of the sea from virtually every room in the manor home, especially where his corner office would be located which had wide views of the sea, docks, and high street. The front garden would be mainly for show, with a fountain in the middle of the garden with polished stone lined path around it, leading to the massive wooden front door, where he planned to have the Potter crest proudly on display, a statement of his importance and his family's long history in Britain. Inside it was divided into four floors, first the basement for storage, the ground floor would contain a traditional reception room and front room, with designer kitchen, mostly magical in style, but with some muggle influences where possible. The main dining room would be set on the same floor, with the main window looking out onto the high street, another reminder of his power and position for guests, as well providing an excellent view on a good day, with a connecting ballroom.

On the second floor his own private office and study would be located, along with a magical gym, looking out onto the sea and street, with library, smaller washroom for guests. The third floor would contain his bedroom, a main bathroom, which he planned to furnish with modern muggle luxuries, and a few bedrooms, for either family usage, or for overnight guests. "I like it," he said simply as the designers seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief. "Now where are the plans for the high streets?"

"Here," the second wizard offered as Harry took them and laid them out. He saw neat rows of traditional shop fronts along with three main high streets. Looking over the standardized shop plan, the plan gave each shop enough front space to both personalize their store and effectively market their wares, with included basement for storage or workshop. The top floor for each shop was free for living in or secondary work area or whatever purpose they had need for. Of course this wasn't taking into consideration the total space available after space expansion charms were liberally applied and tied into the structure, which could easily triple the available shop space or more if the owner fuelled the expansion charms with their own magics. Naturally there would be larger shops available on the high street, for business such as restaurants and clothing stores.

Smiling as he envisioned stores conducting daily business, he noticed the interlocking standardized security over the area, preventing individuals from apparating or portkeying straight into alley at will. The wards would in fact redirect people to pre-selected apparition points, which could be monitored and locked down if need be, either from his own office or the main security office. The main security office would be set up to monitor the alley's activities and coordinate with the Aurors. From his main office or the security office, he, or his future head of security, could also erect powerful anti-portkey and apparition wards over the whole area, effectively locking the whole area down from magical transport altogether. This could even be done by individual sectors in times of civil unrest, as well as preventing criminals from escaping. This would also disable the floo system since the main hub would be under his direct control, forcing criminals to flee by foot. Even then, the access points to the muggle could be remotely locked down also, trapping any criminals. The events of the last war, where Death Eaters could apparate or portkey into Diagon Alley, torture and kill a dozen people and escape immediately after were long gone.

All of this was not something he planned to actively advertise, since any ward or security plan could be broken with enough raw power and forewarning, but it would be effective in buying time and catching the unprepared. So in other words, it wouldn't stop an army, but it would be highly effective against criminals, or terrorists like Death Eaters who sought to get in, do as much damage as they could, and leave immediately after before the aurors arrived.

Unfortunately, besides the high security areas, like his docks, warehouses and dry dock or relatively isolated or off limit areas the wards had to be primarily nonlethal in nature according to the law, to ensure that the chances for civilian deaths were limited. An exception existed though; the wards for public areas could be tightened and made more dangerous only when an official state of war or emergency was declared by the Wizengamot. Unlike these public areas, his private city house had no such restrictions on ward types. He planned to rig the place with enough lethal wartime and siege level wards to make it a small fortress.

Naturally, a lot of the warding on the residential housing would be up to the individual witch or wizard to decide, prior to moving in. Each person could customize their home's warding package to a degree, for a moderate fee, but every Potter rental home's security would automatically have certain minimum security standards as disclosed in their rental contracts. This would make the homes that much more desirable. The guidelines would at a minimum include anti-portkey wards, a strictly defined and keyed apparition point to enter and exit the home and area, as well as the home's internal floo system being restricted to family members only.

**Gringotts Bank**

It never got old looking at the massive piles of shiny gold coins in his Peverell vault and knowing that this was just one of a pair of family vaults he had access to about equal in wealth. It gave him quite a sense of satisfaction to know that he was far richer than his former abusers and that he was effectively nobility in magical society. Of course this "nobility" didn't command the respect that it once did due to the decline of his family's fortunes and influence, but that would certainly change in the future if the docks were as successful as he thought they'd be. He picked up a handful of the beautiful gold coins and allowed the shiny coins to slip through his fingers like running water, his thoughts, like most days, on the distant future.

Dropping the last coin into the pile, he moved towards the area of the vault containing his family's rarer tomes; it contained both his family's private histories and journals as well as priceless books his ancestors had collected over the centuries, before being safely stored away during the war. Good thing too, considering that the Potter family's ancestral manor had been attacked and destroyed by Death Eaters towards the end of the war, claiming his grandparents' lives. He shook his head at the odd feelings of loss, both for the grandparents he would never know as well as the home that had sheltered many generations of his family for centuries. Why he felt such loss for people he'd never met and had no memories of, he just couldn't explain. He would love to rebuild the ancient family manor in the future, as well the other residential family holdings in Britain which had been destroyed, but for now he was focusing his limited resources and capital on expanding his business empire, rather than spending gold on homes that he had no immediate use for and wouldn't generate income.

Logically, he was living quite happily with his godfather Sirius for the time being, and would soon have an impressive city house by his docks that he could always occupy after leaving Hogwarts, if he desired to move out for whatever reason. Yet, the ancestral manor and lands was as much a fundamental part of the Potter family's history and DNA as the docks were, and by that same logic, should be rebuilt sooner rather later. It was interesting, he'd never seen the place, had only heard fond stories from Sirius and his time there during the summer, yet something about the idea of his ancestral home called to him, resonated on a soul deep level in his magic. 'This could be a manifestation of family magics at work,' he thought. Family magic was a very real phenomenon in the wizarding world, although it wasn't all that much understood. Beyond the basics it bordered on mysticism really. Objectively, though, this pull did make sense on an almost instinctual level. The Potter ancestral home had sheltered generation after generation of Potters. For centuries it had served as the seat of the Potter family, it had nurtured, protected and sheltered the family from all that would harm them. So many Potters had been conceived there, born there, lived and grew up there, performed magic there and died there. Like any artefact or place exposed to great amounts of magic, sometimes magic conveys something more, a personality, maybe even a pseudo sentience. Whatever it was, the home and lands of the Potters had obviously become something more than just a building over the centuries. Potter magic had given it something akin to life, and he could feel it even now reaching out to his very blood and magic, calling him home like a loving mother, patiently waiting. In time he would answer that call, he had no doubt. And when he returned he would build it bigger and grander than before. A beautiful home wrapped in the armor and weapons of a fortress. He had long vowed to rebuild the Potter family, and he would do just that.

However, he wasn't here today for books on family history, which could ultimately wait, what he was interested in were his mother's private notes and research journals. After having completely read twice over through his mother's private journals documenting her life and feelings, he felt that he was ready to look into her other works, which he had left alone the previous summer. Hopefully now he would have the necessary knowledge and experience to at least somewhat understand what his mother was researching. If he couldn't understand the concepts yet, it would provide a clear goal to reach in his studies.

Realistically, he understood that there was quite a significant difference between understanding words and magical concepts and actually being able to practically apply that knowledge. Ultimately, though, he just wanted to know his mother's mind better. Naturally, some would call him a mother's boy, but his father just hadn't left much behind; he hadn't left a diary or journal documenting his life like his mother had. In fact, the only thing he had was a partially complete book he had been working on with Sirius, offering instruction on how to become an animagus. He would still read this, but it was rather useless to him all told now that he was well on his way to becoming one and had Sirius to help him in person and answer questions should he have any. Of course, his godfather was an excellent source of information on his father, but it was all second hand, colored and influenced by his own personality and memories. Sirius just couldn't help him understand his father's mind and emotions like a personal journal could. The fact that his father hadn't left much behind showed quite clearly that his father never believed that he would die during the war...that he thought he would survive it.

Shaking his head, he employed his mind magic to rein in his rising disappointment and anguish at never being able to get to know his parents.

'Maybe I should begin my own journal? So my descendents can get to know me? Know how I thought? Why I did the things I did? What made me who I am?' he considered this, whilst putting his mother's extensive research notes in his backpack to review later in private.

"You almost done in there, Harry?" Sirius shouted in from outside the vault, clearly growing impatient at how long he'd been forced to wait.

"Couple more minutes," he shouted back, hurrying himself up. Making his way to leave, he noticed the enchanted Mirror of Erised in the corner where he had left it last year reminding him of his midnight adventure and the discovery and acquisition of the stone. 'I need to check that out sometime,' he mentally noted, before leaving the vault.

"Done?" Sirius asked, whilst the heavy metal vault doors sealed behind him, locking away the treasures within with a booming 'click.'

"Yes," Harry confirmed, as he stepped up next to his godfather to wait for the magical cart to arrive. "It's time for some dinner."

**Midnight lord**

**Headmaster's Office**

"So Harry, what is it you wished to discuss tonight? Perhaps charms? Transfiguration? Maybe some runes? I've heard you have quite a passion for them, or maybe some homework that you're stuck on," the Headmaster enquired with a kind hearted smile, that he saw right through, as he sat down in the padded seat opposite the headmaster's.

to throw the aged wizard for a loop rather than discuss such conventional magical subjects, "History," he offered with a small smile. "Wizards, as a whole, _love_ their history," causing the headmaster to nod in agreement. "It's how their justify their elevated status, self-importance and legitimacy to govern, such as the whole idea of being pureblood, which is a joke, if you ask me," he voiced with a smirk as the headmaster listened intently obviously trying to gain an insight into his thought process. "But magicals more often than not ignore their mistakes, their dark past, and instead focus on goblins rebellions, anything other than their own shameful bits of history. I would like to talk to you today about the Dark Lord Grindelwald," at this the headmaster frowned.

"Do you believe that that is a suitable discussion for this evening? Perhaps something a bit lighter?" the aged wizard offered, trying to change the subject.

"Perhaps, but it is an interesting one," Harry countered with owl-like tilt of his head, examining the Headmaster's unusual body language.

"Still, it's a subject for another time," the older wizard stated firmly.

"Fine," Harry reluctantly agreed, realizing that he wouldn't be able to quiz the formidable light wizard on what made the old dark lord so dangerous.

"How about charms?" the headmaster offered.

"Interesting, albeit mundane. What about spell creation," Harry asked, deciding that that would an interesting alternative topic, given his latest find.

"Spell creation?" the headmaster questioned if he had heard right, while raising a carefully sculpted eyebrow. "That's awfully advanced material for a second year."

"Most things capable of holding my interest are," he countered with a delicate shrug of his shoulders, knowing that he sounded arrogant, but not caring a whit. "Why discuss subjects which are so common and well written about when I have such a rare opportunity to question such a brilliant and knowledgeable wizard? If I wanted to talk about a mundane topic, like charms, I'm sure Professor Flitwick would be more than agreeable without the need for bribery. Besides, spell creation is quite similar to charms."

"True, but spell creation arguably requires a near mastery level understanding of arithmancy, far more than you are likely to possess at this stage in your life and education," Dumbledore expressed with a sad smile, which did nothing but wave a red flag of challenge in front of him.

Nodding his head in agreement, "True," Harry agreed. "But that's something I plan to correct forthwith," he said, giving the headmaster a determined look. "And everyone needs to start somewhere, so why not with you, the preeminent wizard of your generation?" After all, if he wanted to start making sense of his mother's notes, he had to gain the knowledge somehow.

Dumbledore merely continued smiling in his grandfatherly way, "I'm flattered, but spell creation never really caught my interest," the Hogwarts headmaster offered with an amused smile. "If you are genuinely interested in the subject, may I suggest Professor Snape? He has actually created several spells in his youth," he in turn resisted rolling his eyes at the statement.

"No thanks," Harry replied, deciding to ask Sirius instead upon receiving this unexpected resistance. The marauders had modified and created several spells for use in their pranks. "However, I do wonder why you keep trying to get me and Professor Snape in the same room?"

"Just trying to ensure the school runs in harmony," the headmaster offered, as his own mind called 'bullshit,' at the answer as he replied with his own amused snort. After all, if he sincerely wanted harmony in the school, reining in Professor Snape's clear abuse of power and overt favouritism for his house would be an excellent first step, and addressing the distrustful rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin the second one.

"If you say so," he finally answered, trying to work out the headmaster's true intentions, after all, he had already agreed to attend potions again with Snape beginning next year. The various crimes the headmaster had committed against him and his family continued to run through his mind on a loop. He decided to change tactics and go for a safer subject, "Let's just discuss transfiguration then, since it was your own chosen subject to teach for several decades before becoming Headmaster. Organic to organic transfiguration to start."

"That's a very advanced branch of transfiguration Harry, easily fourth year material at least," the aged wizard voiced, giving him another examining look. "Also a skill necessary for becoming an animagus; are you thinking of following in your father and godfather's footsteps?"

"I'm an advanced student, Headmaster," he countered confidently, neither confirming nor denying that an intimate understanding of the subject was necessary for any successful transformation, especially the animagus one.

Of course, that was only if you were taking the traditional potion route to discovering your animal form, like most wizards and witches did when becoming an animagus. His chosen route, reaching his spiritual animal counterpart through deep extended meditation, would remove that barrier as they would essentially become one being, a true melding of thought and form. He wasn't going to say any of this, but made note to be extra careful with what subjects he approached the headmaster with in the future during these meetings. The less the Headmaster knew about him and his thoughts and plans, the better.

**Midnight Lord**

Walking up to the younger woman intently studying in a secluded corner of the library on Saturday night, she saw how the girl's head was practically buried in the book. 'How sad,' she thought, causing her to shake her head in disapproval, not knowing or understanding why anyone would willingly lock themselves away, studying on the weekend, rather than relaxing. Once again she wondered whether it was a good idea to interfere in Harry and Penny's relationship, since it was hardly her business what had transpired between the two of them. But Harry was her cousin, her family, and whether Harry admitted it or not, he clearly missed the older Ravenclaw. She was a puff through and through though and loyalty was the keystone of their beliefs, so she'd do what she had to. She mentally sighed at the inevitable conversation to come, 'Time to play the role of big sister,' she observed, finding the situation funny in many ways as she never expected to have to play that particular role, as she loudly sat down to attract Penny's attention. This caused the Ravenclaw to look up from her studying in confusion. "Talk," she demanded simply and firmly, whilst discreetly waving her wand, casting a localized privacy charm to stop eyedroppers.

"Pardon me?" Penny enquired, her face morphing into one of confusion, as she put her quill down to rest in the ink well as she cast a privacy ward over them.

"What's up with you and my cousin?" Tonks asked, crossing her legs.

"Nothing's up," Penny offered with a tired shrug.

She frowned at the reply, "Really? So you're giving him the cold shoulder for no reason?" Tonks pushed, going into interrogation mode, whilst sending the younger woman a sharp look.

"I'm just busy and need to focus on my studies," Penny offered back.

"That's a feeble excuse," she countered with a good amount of anger. "I'm busy with my NEWTs, but I still make time to see my cousin and Harry's ridiculously busy with all his studying and training and his hundred other projects, but still makes time for his friends, so you have got to do better than that."

"Just drop it, please, Tonks," Penny expressed, giving her a tired look. At this point she noticed that Penny had lost some weight.

"_No_, now tell me what's going on." Tonks pushed, wanting to get to the bottom of this little drama.

She watched as Penny sighed, defeated, "I just realized that there are things about Harry that are darker than I originally thought," the Ravenclaw offered. "I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. It's difficult. I've always seen him as this genius, hard working second year, who cares for his friends. But I've recently seen the darker side to him. How he doesn't care a whit for people outside his little circle, and then only really cares if it affects him or can somehow benefit from it. He's also extremely manipulative."

"All right, I'll drop it for now, but hiding here and ignoring him won't help matters," she offered. "Plus with you avoiding him, it's up to me alone to help him with learning legillimency, and trust me, the book really understates just how painful the headache you get afterwards is," giving Penny a sour look for abandoning her.

**Midnight Lord**

Hearing a firm knock on his dorm room door, he looked up from the homework he was dutifully completing for the next school day, despite it being boring beyond measure. Swinging his legs gracefully off his bed, he walked over to the door, "Who is it Guardian?" he asked the magical portrait guardian, whilst he went about sorting himself out rather than look like a right mess for whoever he was unknowingly entertaining now.

"Professor Flitwick to see you; he seems quite unsettled," the door guardian answered, as Harry threw on his Hogwarts robe over the top of his T-shirt.

Considering the door guardian's remarks for a second, he wondered what the seemingly unflappable charm's master, "Let him in," Harry instructed as the magical door unlocked and swung open, allowing the charm's master to enter his quarters.

"Good evening professor, is there something you need of me?" Harry enquired immediately as the professor entered his room, not wanting the man in his personal space any longer than absolutely necessary. Not that he disliked the professor, but this was his refuge, the place where he could relax and be himself, it was private and only his trusted friends would ever be able to see it.

"Yes, your presence is required," the professor stated whilst discreetly examining Harry's room. "I'm here to escort you."

"May I ask the nature of this meeting?" Harry voiced, whilst his mind went about working out what possible reasons he could have been summoned, whilst slipping his dragon-hide boots on.

"Madam Bones wishes to see you," the charms master offered as they left the tower and walked through the common room, attracting curious looks from the other Ravenclaw students. As soon as they left the common room, the professor spoke again, "I believe there might have been a break in the case against Peter. He may have even been captured," Harry's mind jumped into overdrive at the possibility.

"That's good to hear," Harry agreed with a genuine smile, before he saw a flaw in the professor's argument. "Has my godfather, Lord Black, been informed and his presence requested? I doubt Madam Bones came all this way just to tell me that Pettigrew had been caught."

"No, not to my knowledge, but you are likely correct in your assessment," the charms master offered as they walked down the corridor. "You would have to ask Madam Bones yourself," as they climbed down another set of stairs to the Professor's office. Entering the professor's office, he was greeted by the sight of the ever formidable Madam Bones, her one uncovered eye locking onto him immediately.

"Madam Bones, what can I do for you? Do I need to contact my godfather, the Lord Black? Or perhaps my lawyers?" he enquired evenly, privately wondering what the Head of Magical Law Enforcement wanted with him at this time of night, as the stern witch sat down opposite him giving him a serious look whilst another taller, darker skinned Auror stood silently by the door like a grim faced statue. Madam Bones then pulled up a chair and sat down.

"No, you don't need your godfather, nor your lawyers, at least not today," the head of law enforcement replied with a small smile, before she turned to his head of house, "You can leave us, this is a private matter."

"I'll wait outside," the charms master responded, accepting the dismissal, before quickly leaving the room.

"A couple nights ago, Peter Pettigrew made contact with me for the purpose of making a deal. He is offering to provide full testimony to the courts on several death eater crimes committed during the last war, as well as supporting evidence, and even the locations of the bodies of several missing persons. He will also provide evidence concerning the opening of the Chamber of Secrets and who hired him to kill you. All this in exchange for a pardon and self agreed exile from Britain on penalty of lifetime imprisonment if he ever returns," Madam Bones listed dispassionately as his anger and magic started to flare at the idea of Pettigrew escaping justice through this deal. "His evidence, if it's good as he says it is (and I have no reason to doubt that it won't be) will bring down several high ranking Lords who escaped justice following Lord Voldemort's downfall. As Head of the DMLE, I've decided to accept the deal. In the grand scheme, it's one ultimately low ranking Death Eater, in exchange for a couple dozen others who remain in positions of significant power and influence in our society to this day."

Nodding his head in understanding, he sat down on one of the chairs and remained silent, even if on an emotional level he utterly hated the idea of Pettigrew going free. Thankfully he didn't allow his emotions to cloud his mind or good judgement. "What does this have to do with me, Madam Bones?" he asked emotionlessly.

"Well, Peter's crimes are mainly against you and your family; his betrayal is well known," Madam Bones explained with a sad smile. "A ministry pardon would never be allowed by the Wizengamot unless it had your backing, your approval."

He quickly caught on to why exactly she was here now, "So the only way you can get this deal approved is if I effectively drop the charges against him," Harry stated, rather than it merely being a question. His immediate answer was a firm _no_, before he valiantly tried to examine the situation with a clear mind. Despite his herculean efforts to think about this dispassionately, his emotions were swirling like an angry vortex.

"In simple terms, yes," Madam Bones stated with firm nod. "I know Peter has done a lot against you and your family, but please think of the bigger picture. This is one in exchange for many," she stressed.

Thinking over the statement, his mind was telling him to agree, but his heart was screaming at him to tell this woman to 'go to hell.' "I'm trying quite seriously to think about it that way Madam," he offered back with a sigh. "But a lot of the hardships in my life, some would even call them true horrors, can be laid almost solely at that man's feet. Even with my mind totally agreeing with you on an intellectual level, my heart and gut are urging me to tell you 'to go to hell' and take your deal with you."

"Please think about it?" the head of law enforcement pleaded. "Remember, it wasn't just your family that suffered, almost everyone in Britain knew someone who died during the war."

**End of Chapter**


	36. Y2 Perspective

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note: **Many of you have said that my beta and I went into too much detail in the last chapter. Fair enough, you're entitled to your opinion, but many of you have also expressed that that level of detail is exactly the reason why this story is so enjoyable. While I read each and every review and take your opinions into account, in the end I have to write the story that I myself would want to read...I'll let the fanfiction Gods sort out the rest!

Just hit 1100 reviews, whoop.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 36: Perspective**

**Posted 9th July 2013**

**Revised and****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

"That fucking bitch!"

"Sirius, please calm down, you're scaring the house elves," Remus observed, as his old friend suddenly threw a chair across the study, the ancient chair legs snapping off as they impacted the wall.

"Don't tell me to fucking calm down Remus," Sirius snapped back at his old childhood friend. "That_ bitch_ went behind my back and contacted Harry directly, when I had already told her no," the new Lord Black stalked across the room, pacing backwards and forwards like an angry beast. "_I_ am Harry's guardian; _I_ speak for him, yet she totally disregarded me!" Sirius yelled out, as he sat down in the second chair to prevent that too from being thrown across the room as Sirius continued to pace about.

He recognized what the true issue was, it wasn't the fact that Madam Bones had contacted Harry behind Sirius' back, it was that Sirius had been disregarded, had been ignored, just like they had done to him after the war. He had been disrespected and insulted by her actions, no matter how well meaning her actions were intended to be. It was like she was saying that he was both unsuitable and unfit to serve as Harry's guardian, and that had wounded Sirius' pride terribly. "Yes, she was a bitch," he agreed with his friend, knowing that it was better to let the man vent his anger before trying to reason with him. "She shouldn't have contacted Harry as she did, but-"

"Damn right," Sirius voiced, interrupting his speech.

He gave his friend a sour look at the rude interruption, "But what's done, is done," again trying to move the discussion to more productive grounds. "Now is not the time to sulk and stew over a minor insult; there are much bigger issues in play," again playing the voice of reason, like he always did at times like these. At this Sirius just sent him an accusing glare.

"Don't tell me you support her idea of letting Peter go free? After everything he's done?" Sirius accused, his best friend's eyes flaring in anger. "James and Lily are dead due to him; he even tried to fucking kill Harry!" The dog animagus stepped forward. "I spent over a decade rotting in prison surrounded by soul sucking demons due to him. And Merlin only knows how many good people were tortured, raped, and killed because of information the traitor passed along during the war. He doesn't deserve to go free! Exile is no punishment to him; he has no family here! He has nothing to lose and just about everything to gain!"

"True," he admitted, also acutely feeling the betrayals his old friend committed. "But, he's just _one_ Death Eater Sirius, and by far not the worst of them. Dozens more walked free with that fucking imperious defence. If Peter is willing to testify against them for a chance to walk free, shouldn't we at least consider it? Peter was just a grunt, a rat, a small fish in their organization. With his testimony, we could finally get people like Lucius, a current Lord of the British Wizengamot, a despicable man that shapes policy to this day...and a dozen others just like him," using the name he knew Sirius hated with an unbridled passion was a low blow, but hopefully it'd prove effective. Catching his breath, the dog animagus started to calm down, somewhat. "We all know Malfoy was part of You-Know-Who's inner circle, he was also the one with the deep pockets helping to push his master's political agenda, buying votes and allies. If they can arrest him with Peter's information, they can then question him under veritaserum and get more answers. As soon as they get one dirty secret, it's another crime they can charge him for. And that will allow them to ask more questions. How many people could be brought down by Malfoy's interrogation alone?"

"I still can't believe that that bastard walked free; they all should have been given the kiss after You-Know-Who fell," Sirius grumbled, as he stalked around the room, before finally sitting down behind his desk and pulling out a bottle of fire whiskey and a couple of crystal shot glasses.

He watched as Sirius poured himself a glass, before downing the honey brown liquid quickly. "Also think about it this way, Peter will stop trying to kill Harry. Harry will be able to have normal life at Hogwarts without having to look over his shoulder all the time," he argued, playing the Harry angle.

"Harry will _never_ be able have a normal life thanks to Peter. He's a bloody orphan, remember?" Sirius spat back. "And that's all thanks to Peter."

He refused to take the bait, "Harry isn't the only war orphan, you know," Remus countered, whilst pouring himself some whiskey, wondering if his argument was even partly successful. If not, he would just have to wear Sirius down until he saw reason.

After all, he desperately wanted Peter to pay for his crimes as well, probably just as much as Sirius did considering everything their old friend had done. Peter had betrayed his personal trust and had attempted to discredit him as well. He had sold out their side and James and Lily were dead because of it, along with so many others. But Peter was a small fish and like Albus had argued during their meeting earlier that day, Peter's freedom was a small price to pay if it allowed them to arrest and prosecute so many far more important and influential death eaters who had managed to escape justice. It was for the greater good, one in exchange for the many, and despite his own personal feelings on the matter, he couldn't help but agree with the wise old headmaster.

**Hogwarts' Greenhouses**

Hearing a firm knock on her private greenhouse door caused her to look up from the maturing crop of mandrakes she was currently caring for.

She huffed at the untimely interruption to her important task, before quickly throwing some soil back over the crying magical plants to keep them warm and to protect them. This also muffled its magical cries allowing her to safely remove her earmuffs. Mandrakes were truly wonderful plants, used in all manner of potions for their powerful qualities in restoration. She moved gracefully across the stone pebble floor of the greenhouse whilst skilfully dodging the attacks of the man eating Vip'ca'ract Man Trap, its thorny green vines shooting out speedily trying to ensnare her and pump her full of its toxic venom.

Examining the shadow as she approached the greenhouse door, she found that it was likely too small to be a professor... well, except perhaps Filius, so it was probably one of her students. She realized that it was a Ravenclaw at the sight of the blue tie, rather than one of her own badgers seeking an audience with her, before finally recognising who it was through the glass, Harry Potter. Seeking her out after class was rather unexpected since the young lad had the joint top grades in the class and had demonstrated considerable knowledge of the subject, but clearly had no real love for the subject itself, like most young people these days. It was simply just another class for the Ravenclaw genius, who undoubtedly only put in so much effort to ensure his own academic position at the top of class. So the question was what did he want? Unfortunately, she couldn't think of any good reason why he would be here.

She pulled back the glass door so that she could speak to him, "Mr. Potter, what can I do for you this evening?" she enquired pleasantly.

"First of all, I'd like to apologise for my lack of attention in class today, my mind was elsewhere," he offered in apology, taking her by surprise, as students rarely apologised for such minor offenses.

Smiling at the apology, 'How sweet of him,' she thought. "Think nothing of it; we all have bad days," she offered wisely, whilst making a waving gesture, dismissing the issue. "Was there anything else you wished to talk about?"

"Thank you for the offer Madam, but that is unnecessary. Plus Professor Flitwick might get jealous, thinking you're trying to poach me away from Ravenclaw house," he offered back with a charming smile. She suppressed her own laughter and instead just smiled. 'A bit full of himself,' she noted, seeing the boy's father's influence coming through, or maybe even his godfather's. 'On the bright side, at least he's not pranking everyone.'

"Is there anything else, Mr. Potter?" she enquired, wanting to get back to her work before the evening turned too late, so she could put her feet up in a hot bath and relax.

"Now that you mention it, yes," the dark haired Ravenclaw replied, getting her attention. "Allow me to get straight to the point, I have a number of business assets which specialize in the cultivation of magical plants and ingredients of varying levels; however I would like to introduce some fresh blood into my workforce. Ideally people with new ideas and creative approaches to the field, people who can help add some new energy and drive to my businesses, and, of course, hopefully increase the overall profits. I was wondering if you knew anyone who would be interested. Maybe a soon to be graduating student or students for instance? Or recent graduates who failed to find meaningful work in this field? I know, for instance, that first generation magicals often have difficulty getting into their desired career here in Britain, since most 'traditional' employers prefer magically raised children."

Thrown off balance at this sudden and unexpected change of subject, she mentally regrouped. Never in all her years of teaching did she expect to be discussing business with a second year student, even one as advanced as Mr. Potter. However, she did know several students that fit the requirements and were looking for possible work, but having little success. This might be a great opportunity for them to actually get a good job.

"Hmm..." she mused thoughtfully. "I actually do know several very talented individuals who would be interested in such an opportunity."

She noticed the subtle smile forming on the second year's features at the news, "Would it be possible for you to provide me with a list of their names and any other information you'd care to share? Things like what they specialize in, how you'd rank them amongst each other, what research they'd like to perform in the field, any awards they've received, etc. Once I review the list I'd like to get in contact with them and see if they fit my needs," Harry asked with mix of James' boldness and Lily's firmness, which warmed her heart at seeing so much of them in their son when they had had so little time with him.

Years of teaching kicked in, "Oh, of course," she replied automatically, when responding to a student's request for aid, despite how unusual it was. Wondering where she left a quill, she moved into action.

"Thank you, Professor," he replied as she looked around for her quill. "Perhaps in the future you can continue to recommend other talented students to me."

**Midnight Gold**

**Hogwarts Staff Room**

'I need a drink, a very strong drink,' he thought, as the usual Wednesday night staff meeting continued on without end, whilst he looked around the oak staff table with a good measure of boredom, as he lost himself to his owns thoughts and reflections, remembering Ruby's advice. "I need a change of pace," he muttered quietly beneath his breath, wondering if he would be forever doomed to teach potions to dunderheads for the rest of his days.

"Anything to add, Severus?" Albus asked suddenly, looking over at him with a laid back smile, catching him off guard with the question.

He instantly returned his full attention back to the staff table and the ongoing discussion between his peers. "No," he answered firmly and succinctly, whilst desperately wishing to return to his potions lab, as the meeting tediously carried on. Glancing over to the far wall, where the grandfather clock slowly ticked away in the background, the hands indicated that it was half past eight in the evening.

'Only thirty minutes to go,' he reassured himself.

Fortunately for him, the next thirty minutes passed relatively quickly, as the rest of the staff realized the lateness of the evening and hurried to finish their discussion of recent events, so that they could go about their own affairs. However, before he could make his escape and return to his private quarters, the old fraud pompously stood up, attracting everyone's attention.

"May I make a suggestion," Professor Lockhart voiced, more than asked, as the headmaster rolled his hand, gesturing for the man to speak up. This actually strongly reminded him of his time in the Dark Lord's own court.

"It's Valentine's Day this coming Tuesday; I know it's not something we normally celebrate as magicals, as it's primarily a muggle event, but I think that after everything that has happened this year, maybe we _should_ celebrate it. It would help inject some energy and wonder back into the school" the hack DADA professor expressed with a massive grin, showing his shiny, perfect white teeth. He could see that Professor Vector even nodded in agreement.

"Oh great," he muttered beneath his breath, already having a bad feeling about this, as Minerva looked at him.

"That's an excellent idea," Albus expressed with his own powerful smile. "Love is the most powerful type of magic there is and we should encourage it whenever possible," the aged warlock lectured to the room, his eyes discreetly sending Severus a look. "Particularly in light of recent events."

'If you say so,' he mentally muttered, bitterly, knowing that love had caused him nothing but pain in his life. At this his dark memories came to the surface and his mood darkened as he mentally relived his many mistakes, especially at finding Lily dead.

"Maybe Severus here can teach the students how to brew some love potions then?" Lockhart suggested with a hopeful smile, causing him to level a hateful glare at the hack of a professor.

"No," he said coldly, as the DADA professor flinched at his coldness. "And it's Professor Snape to you; I have not given you permission to address me with such familiarity," he snapped back, years of schooling in social protocol kicking in.

"Severus, be nice," Albus scolded with amusement as Lockhart re-gathered his wits. "He was _only_ making a suggestion. I just happen to agree with him; maybe learning how to brew love potions will be a good thing. The world could certainly use a bit more love in it," the fraud offered like a mystical sage, whilst playing thoughtfully with his long white beard.

Shooting the headmaster a venomous look, he decided to end this before it went too far, "Have you considered the fact that love potions could possibly lead to some serious consequences? Our female students could easily get pregnant under the influence of love potions," at this, the headmaster's smile faded. "Marriage contracts could be broken unintentionally, resulting in severe magical consequences to the individuals involved," as he looked around the staff table, he saw other professors' smiles quickly disappearing. "Houses could be accused of line theft and new blood feuds begun, spanning centuries to come," the last smile disappeared.

Not giving Albus a chance to respond, he pushed forward with his verbal assault. "And you want to bring all these possibilities into the school under your tenure Albus?" he questioned, while forgoing mentioning how the school's Board of Governors would likely respond. "I should also remind you and everyone else here that love potions don't create love, they just mimic the physical feelings associated with love. As soon as the potion leaves the individual's system, those feelings would be gone. So perhaps not really the most powerful of magics, like you claimed; it would all be false, a lie made out of artificial feelings created out of thin air," glaring at the DADA professor, silently expressing his opinion of the man to the room.

"I agree with Severus," Minerva voiced, speaking up on his behalf, for once actually agreeing with him on something, which made a nice change of pace.

"So do I," Filius added in agreement, with a firm nod. "Love potions cause nothing but problems."

"As do I," Pomona added. "Love potions are morally questionable at best, and we shouldn't encourage them. You should know better Albus," the head of Hufflepuff lectured to the room.

Nodding as he replied, "Of course, you're right Pomona," the aged wizard agreed with a sad smile. "I was simply caught up in the moment," before looking over at him. "Thank you, Severus, for pointing out the errors of my ways," giving him a regretful smile, before turning to Professor Lockhart. "As my esteemed staff have pointed out to me Gilderoy, love potions are morally questionable, and hence, shouldn't be encouraged. However, I encourage my staff," specifically looking over at him as he spoke, "to get into the spirit of the event and have lessons planned around a Valentine's Day theme. Of course, it will be up to each of you to decide how to proceed with that in mind." The fraud smiled at his little victory.

'I need a _very _strong drink,' he realized, already having horrible visions of pink and cheesy love hearts hanging from the ceiling of the Great Hall.

"Moving along," the aged wizard declared, instantly taking back control of the meeting again. "Is there anything else any of you would care to report?"

"As you requested, you asked us to keep an eye on Mr. Potter at the start of the term." The head of Hufflepuff house answered, gathering the group's attention."

"Harry approached me yesterday evening, asking if I knew of any past or present students who would be interested in employment in the cultivation of magical plants and ingredients," Pomona explained. "I provided him with the names of several talented past students who I know are struggling to find work in the field," she explained with a smile upon her features.

"As far as I knew, the Potters had no holdings in the cultivation of magical plants," Albus mused to himself whilst stroking his beard, before looking over at Pomona again. "Did he say why?" Severus listened closely to the exchange, coming up with his own theories behind the request.

"Yes, he did actually," the head of Hufflepuff house confirmed. "He said he wants to introduce some 'fresh blood' into the business, to inject some new energy and drive into it."

"Interesting," the headmaster muttered to himself. "Anything else?"

"No," Pomona replied, as the rest of staff shook their heads as well, signalling that they too had nothing further to share.

"Hmm, why was Madam Bones here the other night?" Lockhart asked the room from his seat at the end of table, indicating his place in the leadership of the school, next to the overly large reinforced seat normally used by Hagrid. Of course, Hagrid wasn't aware of it, and probably didn't care much about rank even if he did.

"She didn't say, but I believe there has been a breakthrough in the case concerning Pettigrew," Filius offered back from his small chair near the head of the table, opposite him.

"That's good," Lockhart agreed, with a smile that appeared to be as false as the man himself. The staff meeting lasted another quarter of an hour, before they cleared up the remaining issues, as the headmaster both answered and asked questions of his own.

"I believe that is all for tonight, my friends," Albus declared, ending the meeting, as he quickly moved to make his escape before anyone noticed. "Severus, please stay behind," he mentally groaned.

'What does he want now?' he wondered as his gut twisted, his finely tuned survival senses stirring. None of this showed on his face however. "How can I be of assistance, Headmaster?" he enquired evenly, his voice level and flat as the room emptied.

"Thank you for pointing out the issue with the love potions; you played your part just as I hoped you would," the aged wizard expressed with a grin, as he sensed a new plot brewing in the elder wizard's mind.

"You knew of Lockhart's planned request?" he sneered.

"Of course," the headmaster beamed. "There is little that I don't know about, but it did give me some ideas," he boasted to Severus with a sly smile. "You didn't think all those wards erected over Christmas were strictly detection and security wards did you?" he suppressed a shiver running down his spine at this, feeling like he was caught in a hungry spider's web.

He decided not to answer the headmaster's question. "So you know what Madam Bones wanted to discuss with Mr Potter then?" Severus asked.

"Yes, I'll tell you in due course," the aged wizard voiced.

"Not even a hint?" his interest spiking.

"No," the aged wizard replied, with mischief in his eyes that reminded him far too much of Sirius Black.

**Ravenclaw Tower**

Silently watching the unfolding staff meeting through the charmed glass of the grandfather clock, his hands ran through Shadow's midnight black fur, the magical cat purring in pleasure under his touch. "How interesting," Harry muttered, making mental note that the headmaster was monitoring him through the staff, meaning that he would have to be far more careful than he already was. It also meant that the staff couldn't be trusted with any sensitive information, since they might feel obliged to report it to the headmaster.

He continued dutifully listening to Professor Lockhart's proposal for the Valentine's Day celebrations and the following exchange amongst the professors, carefully noting each person's stated opinions and attitudes to better understand each of them. All these observations were going into his mental file on them, for possible later use. You never when it might prove useful.

He was just about to cut the link to the enchanted glass, which had allowed him to spy on the staff meeting in the Headmaster's office, when the headmaster suddenly asked for Snape to stay behind. Listening to the private exchange between professor Snape and the Headmaster, once again he was taken by surprise at the headmaster's cunning. He couldn't help but feel like a fly, surrounded by spider webs; one misstep and he could be caught. It was not a feeling that he liked as he looked around his room, his private sanctuary, wondering if the headmaster was spying on him at that very moment."How does one break the webs he can't see?" He asked aloud as he put away the piece of enchanted glass, before looking over at the dressing table mirror, a smile appearing on his face. 'Spiders eat insects and flies, so why not ask my own beetle?' But first he had to inform Madam Bones that somehow the aged wizard knew what they had privately discussed, all without revealing his source.

He considered the problem for a second, before deciding to check on the other magically charmed spy glasses that he had placed around the school, to see if they were still working effectively. So far he had managed to set his spy glasses in half a dozen rooms, most of them being the teachers' offices that he had managed to gain access to during a night time stroll. In addition, he had also managed to get three set up in the Ravenclaw common room, allowing him to monitor his housemates without leaving the comfort of his dorm room. Naturally, this was just the first phase of his plan, the first few lines of his information web, more of a proof of concept really. Soon, all of his rivals would be under his watchful eye.

**Midnight Lord**

**Malfoy Manor**

Lucius Malfoy lowered himself into his sumptuous desk chair, as he silently considered whether to support Madam Umbridge's recent proposal on new werewolf legislation. If it had been proposed even just a year ago he would have instantly supported it, but now he had to be more careful, his available resources and owed favours were not what they once were. Sadly, if he did not vocally support it, Lord Nott certainly would, costing him more influence within the pureblood ranks.

Hearing the soft pop of a house elf appear, he looked over at the pathetic creature dressed in an old tea rag, who was dutifully placing a silver tea tray onto his desk, containing the morning paper and his daily correspondence. However, an unmarked letter caught his immediate attention, since it was from one of his agents or one of his informers that he had strategically placed around Britain.

Like always he reached for his heirloom letter opener. It was enchanted to detect curses and spells laced into any letters he opened, just in case the extensive manor wards designed for that very purpose somehow failed to detect them. This was the same letter opener his father had used before him, and the one he expected his son to use after him long into the distant future. With the Malfoy crest engraved proudly on the handle, the beautiful silver knife easily cut the heavy envelope open.

Throwing the envelope into a nearby bin and unfolding the yellow parchment carefully, he saw one of the distinctive codes he and his informers used for passing such sensitive messages between them. The triangles and runes and circles were all in complex, incomprehensible designs, with numbers added here and there, placed seemingly at random around the parchment rim.

Getting up from his comfortable chair whilst pulling his dressing grown tighter, he walked quickly across the study to access a small chest, hidden carefully away behind bookshelves lining the far wall. Elegantly flicking his wand, the beautifully crafted chest unlocked, before he carefully opened the lid, revealing dozens of random items he had gathered. Most people would assume that these were merely harmless nick-nacks and items of sentimental value, but they actually served a far different purpose to him; each one was the magical code key linked to one or two of his informers or agents, allowing him to encode and decode messages sent to and from them quickly and efficiently. Finding the earthy brown pebble necessary for decoding the magical message, he pressed it against the enchanted parchment, before pressing his wand again it. "Unreval Occulta" he muttered, moving his wand in concentric circles, before making an X through the centre. He was once again impressed at Severus' creativity in the art of spell creation, at being able to invent and perfect such a useful spell.

The seemingly random and meaningless text quickly shifted, rearranging itself to reveal the secret message contained within...

_Dear Royal Turkey Cooker,_

_Mummer Bear visited Hogwarts and met with Terminally Ill Patient. It is believed she was there to discuss business involving Nibbles, but cannot confirm this information. Sleeping Willow has indeed been removed, but is expected to be replanted at beginning spring term._

_Nagging Wife is still gagged and Grandfather Clock is still out of time. Sweet Candy is a go._

_Thank you for the Candy provided, hopefully it will prove to be as tasty as you say._

_From_

_The Doctor_

His lips curled in amusement at the encoded message and the odd code names contained within. Despite the seriousness of the message and the warning within, he found the code names rather entertaining, and did especially like his own code name, '_Royal Turkey Cooker.'_ All of this wasn't strictly necessary with the encoded keys he had used, but his agent really did love the game of shadows too much. Nevertheless, he understood its contents easily enough after so many years of playing shadowy games of power in magical Britain.

'He'll probably write a book about this someday,' he mused to himself as he moved to burn the letter and vanish the ashes. Never the less, he would have to contact his people in the Ministry and the Aurors, so he could check on what 'Mummer Bear' was up to. Madam Bones was a stubborn thorn in his side, one that he had been trying to get rid of for years through several different plots, but all had been unsuccessful. However, he and his allies had been highly effective at de-fanging her department over the years, slowly picking away at its effectiveness with a coordinated series of political moves.

His first and successful method of attack was to push through numerous tax reductions country-wide, forcing the Ministry to cut the department's budget after the war was over. This prevented the department's further growth under the justification that the Ministry's funds were limited and what was available was better spent rebuilding the national infrastructure after the war. This was actually something his foe Dumbledore was forced into supporting; otherwise he would quickly lose face among his close supporters and allies and most importantly the support of the short sighted public.

Then there was also the need to pay off their national loans to the goblins, ones the Ministry was grudgingly forced to take on during the war due to his master's actions. This resulted in the Ministry's annual budget being cut to one third of its pre-civil war levels, helping to cripple the Ministry's effectiveness even further. Thanks to his personal connections with the two recent ministers, mostly due to his money being directed into their election campaigns, he was able to subtly and gently direct the Ministry's limited resources even further away from Law Enforcement to other departments in the Ministry. These other departments were ones that were directed and controlled by people far more amendable to persuasion then Madam Bones had ever been, or were outright controlled by his own allies and former comrades in the Death Eaters.

All this strengthened his own influence and control over magical Britain's government and brought powerful protections, as he was the Minister's closest friend and unofficial adviser. Then there was the added effect that with a significantly reduced budget the DMLE was forced to cut its basic starting wages thus decreasing its appeal as a possible career path. This in turn discouraged the more talented witches and wizards from joining, decreasing the overall quality of the average auror amongst their ranks.

Finally, even though he had been steadily working against the DMLE, ironically enough, thanks to his Ministry connections and some well placed bribes, extortion and murder, he had won the exclusive right, through magically binding contract no less, to supply the department with its dragon hide armour needs. Under his control, the price quickly rose in the following years to 250% above the market price, but the department was still forced to buy under the terms of the contract! He was particularly proud of how that that scheme continued to pay off so handsomely. On the one hand he was working hard to defang the department, yet he was still profiting handsomely from their death throes. It was delightful!

He was tempted, once again, to raise the price of the dragon hide in retaliation for Bones' scheming against him, but he would have to once again engineer a dragon pox plague amongst the dragon herd to somewhat justify it, which would require too much effort right now, causing him to dismiss the idea. Despite the setback with the Chamber of Secrets and the removal of the Weasley girl from Hogwarts, he felt confident that his plans would be successful in the end.

After all, the Chamber of Secrets was nothing more than an opening move in a grand plan, something designed to distract the Chief Warlock and draw his attention away from much more important matters. And now that the aged wizard was reassured that the Chamber was secure and no longer an immediate threat, his guard would be lowered, allowing for his main plan to be executed with the help of his agent. It also had another more subtle purpose, one of helping to identify the aged wizard's agents within his own circle of influence. He knew Severus was stuck right in the middle of them and could be trusted to a point, so long as his oaths he had taken a decade earlier to win Dumbledore's trust weren't overly challenged.

Of course, the easy way around that was to simply not tell the man, even if it left him bitter and a bit resentful. To Severus' credit, he did take his responsibilities to Draco extremely seriously, and that was the main reason why he was one of Draco's possible guardians if anything should happen to him and his wife.

And with Severus being Draco's guardian, it meant that should anything happen to him, Draco would be protected from his own enemies indirectly through Severus' protection obtained by serving the Headmaster.

After all, he wasn't known as the cunning fox, for nothing.

**Midnight lord**

**Swansong Rooms**

Looking around at his group of friends and allies he began the meeting, "All right ladies and gentlemen, we have our agreed upon revision timetable set up; we'll begin using it at the start of next week." Harry expressed proudly to the group as a whole, since it had been mightily challenging to arrange it so that all of them could attend. "Hopefully, the five of us can take the top spots this year."

"Yup, it would be awfully nice to one up _the_ high and mighty Granger," Tracy voiced eagerly, as the other two Slytherins mumbled their own agreement.

"Her head's getting a bit too big for my taste," Blaise added, his anti-muggleborn prejudice starting to shine through. "I still can't believe she had the gall to attempt to brew polyjuice potion. What arrogance!" he proclaimed, as Tracy actively ignored him.

He chose to keep quiet, rather than joining in with the Granger bashing. He honestly expected that they felt the same about him at times; he thought Blaise certainly did. After all, Slytherins in general were known for their jealousy. But, unlike Miss Granger, he wasn't openly showing off in front of the class, instead always walking the fine balancing act between answering a question correctly and showing off. He chose the more prudent option of 'showing off' his knowledge and in-depth understanding of magic in his homework assignments, or in private discussions with his professors after the lesson had ended and the other students had left the room. Plus, he always offered his friends assistance, if and when they asked him for it, rather than shoving it down their throats when they were embarrassed.

Truthfully, he was relatively certain that the five of them would take the top spots in at least DADA, with both his advanced knowledge in the subject offered to the group and his cousin Tonks assisting them in their practical revision for the subject, they were a shoe in. Furthermore, he privately hoped that Luna would be successful in her end of year exams, considering the amount of time and energy he had put into grooming her. So much time, in fact, that he expected her to get first place in her yearly exams, which would increase his own prestige within Ravenclaw house and give him some bragging rights and capital to spend with their Head of House. Plus, it would force both her year-mates and Ravenclaw house as a whole to acknowledge her, rather than treat her like a freak worthy of only mean spirited pranks. And if they didn't, and instead chose to target her more due to her academic success, out of petty jealously, well, it would further drive her into his influence, into his arms.

This would be especially true if she believed that his tutorship and guidance were the reasons behind her success. Truthfully, he believed that she would have been just fine by herself, since she was both hardworking and motivated. He couldn't help but smile at his developing scheme; it was truly a win/win situation for him. He would either earn more respect within Ravenclaw house and with his own head of house by successful tutoring her to success and helping her make some friends amongst her peers; or he would more than likely gain an unwavering and ridiculously loyal ally in the girl, who saw him as both her mentor and her only true friend within this '_big bad school_,' assuming the gap between her and her childhood friend, Ginny Weasley, continued to widen.

Naturally, he was tempted to try and widen that gap a little further, just like he had done with Penny and Percy the previous year. But he chose not to, deciding to leave it up to the pair and fate, since the youngest Weasley had done nothing to bring his displeasure, unlike her older brother. Well, besides being a possible suspect in the opening of the Chamber of Secrets and that likely wasn't even through her conscious choice. He blamed Lord Malfoy more for that than anyone. Plus, if any hint of his involvement came to light in breaking them up, he would probably lose the first year witch forever, causing all the time and energy he had spent on Luna to go down the proverbial drain pipe.

Then there was the fact, like Sirius had unintentionally advised, that witches _held_ grudges extremely well. He'd rather not end up as a dashing toad, trying to steal a kiss from a fair maiden. He did have to rebuild the Potter family numbers after all.

"Harry, I've heard some interesting rumours that you're receiving private lessons from Professor Dumbledore," Daphne probed, from her place next to Blaise, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

He decided to be honest with his few friends, since it would only increase his personal standing amongst his peers, especially as it was only a matter of time before the rumour fully spread throughout the school. "Yes, I am," he confirmed. "I'm pretty sure that Granger will be filled with crippling jealousy at the thought of my getting _private_ lessons from him," Tracy's light smile turned into a full blown grin at that.

"How did that happen?" Padma asked from besides him, beating Daphne to the question, her cute bordering on beautiful features, in a few years time, laced with the subtle signs of confusion. "I thought that you disliked the man."

He considered his answer carefully before answering, "It was one of the terms I demanded in exchange for agreeing to return to potions lessons next year under Snape." He carefully explained to the group, as he turned his body to fully face Padma. "I didn't lie to you when I said I personally dislike the Headmaster, I still do, very much so in fact, and I have several _very_ good reasons for disliking him. But, however much I don't like to admit it, I'm forced to admit that he is one of the most powerful and knowledgeable wizards around. So why shouldn't I try to learn from him when the opportunity presents itself? Why shouldn't I try to tap him for knowledge, for greater understanding?" he asked the group, playing the Slytherin accepted angle of self-gain even when distasteful, as he noticed Daphne's eyes light up in understanding and respect.

"It's also why I now have limited access to the restricted section of the library, even if it's strictly monitored," he explained to the near silent group. "That was another of my demands for agreeing to return to potions next year. Of course, I put in terms and conditions in place governing Snape's conduct towards me. If he steps out of line even a bit, one insult, one biased mark, one bit of sabotage, I'm gone, free to continue my own self-study, but yet I still get to keep my access," he bragged, a sly shark-like smile appearing on his lips.

Despite everything he had said and explained, it was the pass to the long coveted restricted section that had gotten Padma's full attention. "You have access to the restricted section of the library and you didn't tell me?!" she accused, getting puffed up, and unintentionally doing a rather good impression of Miss Granger. But he wisely chose to keep that observation to himself, as Blaise suddenly grinned in amusement at the unfolding drama, before whispering something in Daphne's ear.

He took a deep breath before replying to her accusation, not liking her tone one bit, especially in this setting, "I didn't tell anyone," he countered to his Ravenclaw friend. "Do you recall what house we're in? I would be swarmed with requests for books; not even NEWT level students have such ready access. While I don't mind occasionally using my pass to withdraw books you might be interested in, I have absolutely no intention of playing the role of librarian to the whole of Ravenclaw house," the Slytherin trio cracked their own smiles at the thought of his discomfort. "Unless I can profit from it." This caused Tracy to suddenly burst into laughter, whilst Daphne's own lips twitched in amusement, and something that looked almost like fondness, before it quickly disappeared.

"One could almost mistake you for a goblin Harry," Tracy teased, as he grinned back, taking it as a compliment.

"So what is the headmaster teaching you? Potions?" she asked eagerly.

He shook his head at this guess, "Of course not, we discuss whatever subject that strikes my fancy," he explained. "However, I'm focusing on transfiguration at the moment, since he is a world renowned master in that field and has amazing insights into it; after only a little bit of time talking with him I'm already finding the subject far easier than before," he claimed. "That means that you can help us with our own transfiguration assignments and revision," Padma stated, giving him a stern look, almost daring him to challenge her.

He let the challenge pass for now, although he wasn't going to allow her to walk all over him with her assumptions and demands. They would be having a _conversation_ later about this. "I already do, don't I?" he asked the room, part of him slightly amused at her forcefulness. "And whilst we are on the topic of rumours, I've heard from the headmaster's office portraits that there is going to be a Valentine's Day celebration this year," he explained to the group, effortlessly changing the subject. The news took a couple of seconds to register, before Tracy and Padma suddenly looked rather excited at the idea, whilst Blaise cast a longing look over to Daphne, who appeared to ignore the statement, especially as Blaise's arm wrapped around her waist protectively, pulling the heiress closer to him.

"Just wait until Parvati hears about this!" Padma exclaimed in excitement.

"Just don't mention my name," he answered seriously, giving Padma a stern look. After all, as soon as Padma's twin sister Parvati found out, her dear friend Lavender would quickly follow and then the whole school would know by the end of the day. "I'd rather not let the headmaster know that I'm on good terms with some of the portraits in his office. As a group they are extremely attention starved after so many years just hanging there, and just happen to have extremely loose tongues," he lied through his teeth, a shark like smile appearing on his features, as he worked hard to protect the source of his information. He realized that there would rapidly come a point where he would need to let things happen as they will, even if he was forewarned of a plot or scheme against him. Appearing to always be prepared for things or to always know more than he should would be an easy way to alert his foes that he had some undetected means to ferret out information. It wouldn't take long for them to grow suspicious making it more and more likely his surveillance charms would be discovered.

"We need to get going," Daphne suddenly announced to the group, rising gracefully from her seat whilst untangling herself from Blaise's sudden embrace. "We have lessons starting in a couple of minutes and it wouldn't do for us to be late," reminding everyone of the time.

"Oh, by the way, Draco is scheming something again," Blaise suddenly announced, as the group walked past the swan door guardian. "He seems to have a score to settle with you."

He snorted in amusement at the idea, which the group easily caught, "I'll just have to get him to set his sights on Longbottom and Weasley instead; it shouldn't be too hard," a basic plan quickly forming in his mind.

"What are you planning?" Tracy asked, subtly leaning into him, as they walked down the secret passageway.

"A tasteless prank that only a Gryffindor would pull," he answered back to the brunette Slytherin, his mind stirring, as he schemed once again. "I apologise in advance if you three somehow how get caught up in the crossfire."

"I'll overlook it this time," Tracy proclaimed magnanimously, sending him a mischievous smile. "However, I expect a Valentine's Day gift for my trouble," he noticed how Padma sent the Slytherin a seething look at this.

**Saturday Morning**

"Hi Harry," Lavender cooed as he looked up from his textbook to register the familiar faces of Lavender, Parvati, and the red head Sally-Anne standing next to her, the former looking rather nervous as he examined the trio, dressed in casual clothes for the weekend. "Do you mind if the three of us sit with you?" the young lioness enquired, her study books pressed up against and drawing attention to her blossoming chest.

Considering his options and remembering Sirius' advice about not alienating girls with wicked tongues. He replied with a simple, "Of course," a fake smile pasted on his lips. Truthfully, though, he wanted nothing more than to tell the three talkative lions to go away, so that he could focus on his studies in peace. "As long as you're quiet and don't disturb me _too_ much," he added with a charming smile to take the potential sting out of his words.

After all, his independent projects were seriously lagging behind in forward progress this year with all the upheaval caused by the opening of the Chamber of Secrets and Pettigrew's attempts on his life. All this in addition to his increasing involvement in running his family businesses and being a part of the Quidditch team, not to mention most of his free time being taken up with training one-on-one with Tonks. And he couldn't forget his tutoring of Luna.

His cousin could be quite the old drill instructor when she got going. In fact, under her watchful eye, he already knew and was comfortable using most of the 4th year DADA practical material and even knew several fifth year spells. He had even found and practiced several new spells himself, such as the ever useful and deadly ribbon cutter, which he had stumbled upon in his searches through the restricted section. The ribbon cutter, which was originally designed to clear sections of forests of large trees, fired a thin ribbon of pink energy from the wand about a foot in width, but lacking much of any depth, like a paper ribbon, from which its name was derived. An unskilled user of the spell could point and shoot the cutter energy like a gun, flying straight and true and then dissipating after only a short distance. A master at the spell could wield and direct it like a semi-flexible razor whip and keep it up and running by feeding it a continuous, but variable flow of magical power. In time a person could even instinctively alter the width of the ribbon, making it smaller or wider at will and wield it like a scalpel. However all this rapid progress in DADA and duelling came at the cost of his burgeoning research into runes, which had completely fallen by the wayside. There just weren't enough hours in the day to do all that he wanted and prioritizing was the only way to move forward.

When you had someone out to kill you, you had to focus on the bigger picture, such as gaining practical skills in combat magic and growing stronger and faster. However, one of his independent projects, that of becoming an animagus, was actually coming along quite nicely, if he said so himself.

So now that he _finally_ had a real chance to catch up in his independent studies, he was rather reluctant to let it go, no matter how pretty the girls were. After all, Lavender couldn't help but gossip and that was exactly why she was already considered the gossip queen of their year. The blonde also happened to remind him of Rita and how the Prophet's star reporter liked to spread gossip in her articles. 'Maybe I should introduce them to each other?' he considered, before eventually dismissing it as premature.

Plus the three of them had been stalking him for the last couple of days, since the announcement of the Valentine's Day celebrations. 'I should have kept my mouth shut' he mentally rumbled in annoyance at the situation he had indirectly set in motion.

Naturally, he had taken to a policy of avoidance, rather than risk offending the girl by rebuffing her advances. Unfortunately the girl was quite persistent in her pursuit. While it was rather flattering and most certainly a confidence booster, it would also cause issues with his friends; both Padma and Tracy were interested in him, based on their not so subtle hints. Not that he would mind a kiss or more from Lavender though; his lips were positively twitching for another chance at one after the New Year's kiss he had received from the twins, as his budding teenage hormones started to play havoc with his focus, even with his mind magic at work in helping to restrain them.

Honestly, he was terrified at the thought of what he would likely be like without his mind magic helping to reign in his biological impulses, impulses which had been strengthened many times over by his progress into becoming an animagus and deeply connecting with his animal side. However, since his policy of avoidance seemed to be failing to get the desired results, logically he had to take another approach, but the question was what approach to take? Turning his attention back to his studies, he silently considered his problem and how he could get some level of control over the situation as the Gryffindor trio sat down, following Lavender's lead, who sat directly to his left, Parvati to his right, with Sally-Anne sitting next to her.

Lavender lasted less than a minute, before breaking the silence and asking him a question. "Whatcha reading Harry?" causing him to mentally groan.

**That Evening**

"So what do you recommend?" Harry asked his suitably amused godfather, after explaining his current dilemma.

He watched as a wide grin appeared on Sirius' face, over the enchanted mirrors. "It's a simple solution really; just get a girlfriend," Sirius offered and then said no more, as if that was all that needed to be said. Harry raised an inquisitive eyebrow, causing his Godfather to elaborate on his answer more. He waited patiently as his godfather gave him a look of disappointment, like he was explaining something so simple that even a complete idiot should understand it, much like how Professor Snape would look like whenever he was talking down to Ron. "If you have girlfriend, you're off the market, therefore they will lose interest until you're back on the market again. Unless, of course, they think they can steal you away from her, which can get rather interesting and oh so very enjoyable." Sirius offered with a smirk and a look of fond nostalgia. "Therefore, get a girlfriend who will be protective of you, a young proud lioness that is territorial, but understands your boundaries and the need for personal space."

"Really? It's that simple?" he questioned further, still not quite believing that such a simple solution would really work.

"Yeah, duhh," his godfather explained, whilst shaking his head again in disappointment. "Remember, just because you're dating someone doesn't mean you're agreeing to a lifetime commitment. Just enjoy the experience," Sirius advised.

"Alright," Harry finally agreed, once again bowing to his godfather's undeniable wisdom concerning all things girl. "Now, I just need to decide who to ask out."

"What about one of those twins?" Sirius suggested with a mischievous grin. He considered whether to ask Padma out. "It would certainly be beneficial to the docks if you were to be on good terms with Lord Patil. Often the first couple of years after opening a new business are the hardest. However, if you go down that road, work to ensure that your friendship remains intact no matter what happens." Sirius carefully advised, before looking over his shoulder. "Oh, Remus says hi!"

**Number 12**

He smiled, as he closed the connection to Harry's mirror, proud of himself for finally cracking Harry's outer shell and encouraging normal teenage behaviour. But now he had to get back to his notes for the upcoming debate on werewolf rights proposed by Madam Umbridge. "I can't believe you did that Sirius," Remus voiced crossly, as the werewolf entered his office. "You shouldn't be encouraging him to play with other peoples' emotions."

Shaking his head in amusement, he responded, "Oh come on Remus, we were the same at that age," Sirius expressed with a fond smile. "It's a game everyone plays. Lords and Ladies even encourage their children to pursue relationships with other heirs that benefit their goals."

"No, it was you and James that were playing the field Sirius, not me," Remus lectured.

"Only because you were all stuck up with your 'I'm a werewolf; no one will want me,' attitude," Sirius countered; as Remus gave him a vicious look that clearly said 'don't go there.' "I personally recall that you were quite popular with the ladies at Hogwarts, as they all considered you 'such a gentlemen.' But you just never chose to act on any of their obvious advances, preferring to sulk in your self-pity," at this Remus' eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I said don't go there Sirius," Remus spoke forcefully.

He had finally had enough of his friend's sanctimonious attitude and was going to say something. "Why not Remus?" he challenged, stepping forward into the man's personal space. "You were the one to come in here and lecture me about how to raise my godson. Let's not forget that you were the one who ignored him for a good decade! And before you say that it was because you're a werewolf, that's a fucking shit poor excuse," Sirius spat back, his blood pumping as he tore into his old friend, laying out the harsh truths before him.

"For Merlin's sake man, wake up and smell the roses already!" He spat, as he noticed Remus' fists ball in anger. "Your life is shitty because you're far too self absorbed about yourself and you allow your condition to dictate everything _you_ do. I finally talked Harry into letting you come with us this summer on our trip to the Far East, but so far you've made nothing but excuses why you shouldn't come. I even arranged it so that it would fall between moon cycles for you, even though it would cut our trip short. We've hit the bars together in the evening looking for a good time, looking to chat up some witches, but what do you do but just stand there sulking in a corner. Then you moan about getting fired from your latest job; have you ever considered just asking me to hire you? I know you're qualified for it, so it's no skin off my back. Even Dumbledore has faith in you, to the point that he's allowing you into a school full of kids for a year." Remus just stood there, almost shaking with rage.

"I even asked Harry on your behalf," causing the werewolf to suddenly look at him in surprise. "I know he has several werewolves already in his employ and he doesn't care a whit about their condition, as long as they do their job. Even with him strongly disliking you, he said he would hire you if you asked him."

"I don't want your charity, or Harry's" Remus spat back.

"It's not charity Remus, it's called being a friend; it's called being there for your friends," he argued, once again. "There are hundreds of werewolves in just Britain Remus, all of them with the same problems as _you_, but yet they have wives, girlfriends and kids. And if you are so worried about spreading your condition, why not find a nice werewolf girl to settle down with?" he asked.

"I'm to take the advice of a womanizing asshole like you?!" Remus snapped back at him.

"And?" Sirius asked, with a half mocking smile, not at all offended, as his friend turned to leave the room. "At least I get laid!" Sirius proudly shouted as the office door was slammed shut. Returning to his chair, he wondered if Remus would actually listen to him for once, or whether his friend would continue to mope about the house.

He studiously ignored the guilt he felt for calling Remus out on his shit, but he simply had had enough of the man's endless moping and boundless self pity, blaming all his misfortunes and unhappiness on his condition.

A decade ago he would have simply ignored it, leaving it to better people like James and Lily to try and fix the man's self-esteem, but jail and the loss of his friends had changed him, hardened him. His new responsibilities as Harry's godfather and guardian and as the Lord Black had made him far more serious and driven then he'd ever been before.

Simply put, he wouldn't put up with any of Remus' self-pity bullshit any longer.

**Midnight Lord**

**Headmaster's Office**

Sucking on his trademark lemon drops, he considered the latest events and the interesting reports he had received from his agents within the Ministry. Once again his network of spies, agents and informers within the Ministry and the Aurors had proven their worth, providing him with detailed intelligence on Madam Bones' latest plan to catch the cunning Lord Malfoy. For years, he had carefully played the political game against Lord Malfoy, checking his moves, whilst giving him a few minor victories where need be to keep the lord interested. The main reason for this was to keep his political wits sharp and finely honed for more important battles. Plus as the saying goes, know your enemy. Since the death eater was Tom's main political tool, it allowed him to develop a deeper sense of how Lord Malfoy operated. So one day, when Tom inevitably returned, he would know all the man's tricks and be able to curtail his actions.

In addition, the death eater had proven his worth time and again by providing him with a common foe to unite his political allies and supporters behind, to help him keep them in line, marching to the same beat, rather than fracturing into small, independent groups after the dark lord's fall. He couldn't let the light facture; it needed to be united and whole to fight the darkness when it inevitably returned to Britain.

However things had changed now; for years he had been willing to play the Lord Malfoy's shadowy game, as long as it was within the treacherous halls of the Ministry and innocents weren't involved as they battled it out. But Lord Malfoy had crossed that invisible line this year, proving the death eater to be far too dangerous for his own good. With this latest plot against him, using the school as the stage and his young charges as the targets, the man had proven that he was beyond forgiveness and redemption. Then Lucius had stepped even further over the line with the attempted assassination of Harry Potter by using the desperate and easily manipulated Peter. All of this together meant that the proverbial gloves were well and truly off; it was time to finally remove the remorseless death eater once and for all and to remind everyone in magical Britain just who he was.

For years now they had all come to see him as just the aging and kindly headmaster of Hogwarts, no longer as a political mastermind. It was time to remind them that his political claws were still sharp and capable of rending flesh from bone.

This was especially needed now, with the confirmed knowledge that Lucius' dark master was still out there somewhere, as he thought about the previous school year and the cursed diary he had found in Ginny Weasley's possession. Even now, days after cracking the mystery of the diary, it still truly shocked him to know just how far the teenage Tom Riddle had fallen into the dark arts during his time at Hogwarts. To know that the former Slytherin head boy had managed to create a horcrux, a soul anchor, whilst he was still in school, was absolutely sickening. However the academic inside him admired the boy's magical ability, even if it was totally misguided and abhorrent.

Tom Riddle was one of his many failings; in fact it was one of his biggest regrets that he was unable to stop Tom's fall into the darkness. This was actually the main reason why he kept such a close eye on his charges nowadays.

However, even with the horcrux being destroyed, he knew that Tom was still out there somewhere, lurking in the shadows, biding his time, since the Dark mark was still present on Severus' arm. Another piece of excellent spell work from Tom, despite its dark designs and origins, he grudgingly admitted. His admiration was such that he had considered making his own mark, for his own Order of the Phoenix, but had eventually dismissed it. After all, despite the advantages it offered, the negatives, as far as he concerned, far outweighed the positives. Plus, it wouldn't be good for morale and his image to openly copy a dark lord... he wasn't a copycat. Instead, he had crafted special phoenix necklaces, using his familiar's own feathers and tears to create his own special summoning device, allowing his Order to come to him wherever he was and to allow him to find his own people, if needs be. Dozens of lives had been saved in the last war thanks to the necklace, before the Death Eaters realized what it was and devised their own counter measures.

The dark mark's origins dated all the way back to imperial Rome and Egypt. These were times when the need to brand and mark one's slaves was a necessary practice, hence the creation of the slave's mark, as far as wizard historians could tell. However, the dark mark was a modified version of this brand, connecting Tom to all his followers. How or why it was modified, he did not know, and he doubted he would ever find out unless he asked its creator. However, the dark mark, much like its ancient ancestor, would never truly fade until the Dark Lord himself had been truly destroyed. But just like its ancestral mark, the slave's mark had shown the strength and health of its creator, so too did the dark mark, which provided him with an excellent warning device, allowing him to discreetly monitor the Dark Lord's health and prowess from a safe distance.

This was another reason why he kept Severus close at hand. But thankfully with the destruction of the diary, Severus' mark was fading once again, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

At one point, he was sorely tempted to share the dark mark's true origins, in order to help discourage and facture the prideful pureblood ranks who would hate the idea of being branded and 'owned' by anyone. But he had eventually dismissed it, since they would almost certainly research it for themselves, if they hadn't already, and could possibly make the connection that their Lord was still alive and try to contact him and/or resurrect him sooner. It was also why he had discouraged the unspeakables from researching further into it, for fear that the knowledge would spread. Once Voldemort was destroyed for good, they could research the mark all they liked.

Now with his own plans in motion to remove Lucius, as well as Madam Bones' own ambitious plan, which he was discreetly shaping through his trusted agents, he had to consider what to do with Severus. The man was his most trusted spy, his most valuable agent, and his personal assistant. His advice was invaluable when it came to dealing with the dark arts, but he was Draco's godfather and had a deep loyalty to Lucius' family. He seriously doubted that Severus would openly betray the Malfoys; he was just too loyal to them. So the question was how to twist that loyalty, that sense of duty to Draco, before the answer suddenly popped into his mind.

Lily.

Severus' one weakness, the reason why he had betrayed Tom despite knowing all too well how the dark wizard dealt with such people. Could he play on Severus' oaths to protect Lily's only son and his oath to protect Draco?

"I might be able to spin it," he muttered to his silent office, before remembering that he had an appointment to keep.

**Ministry of Magic**

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, before respectfully knocking on Madam Bones' door before waiting for her reply. "Enter," the stern auror barked, as he carefully turned the door handle. "Madam Bones, may I have a moment of your time," Kingsley requested, as his boss looked up from her paperwork, her eyes locking on to him, tracking him, as he stood silently in the doorway.

"Make it quick," she snapped, covering her papers out of habit.

He closed the office door, so that they wouldn't be overheard, "I have an idea, one I believe will increase our chances of catching Lord Malfoy," he offered as he stood before her desk at crisp attention, like he was on the parade ground. "We both know that Lord Malfoy is a slippery character and that half the stuff Pettigrew has given us won't stick to him, especially with all the strings he can pull and the bribes he could offer. But what if we caught him red-handed instead? What if we caught him dealing directly with Pettigrew?" he asked his commanding officer.

"I'd say that that would be pretty damming evidence," Madam Bones replied, clearly interested in what he had to say.

He smiled proudly at not being shut down immediately, "What if we fake Mr. Potter's death?" he asked her mischievously, her interest spiking. "Then we follow Peter to the exchange with Lord Malfoy and encourage Peter to get Malfoy to say something incriminating, or some level of confession. As soon as the gold has exchanged hands for the successful murder; we then arrest him on the spot. Then we would have hard evidence of Lord Malfoy's involvement in both the conspiracy and attempted murder/assassination of the dual heir to an ancient and noble household, dealing and assisting with a wanted criminal, and for dealing in the dark arts. That's easily life imprisonment, no matter what strings he pulls," he proclaimed eagerly.

Watching as Madam Bones shifted in her seat, a grin slowly grew on her features. "That might actually work," she muttered back with her own smirk. "We could even invite some reporters along, under the pretence of wanting them there for a big bust . Not even being the Minister's close friend and advisor would save him," she voiced, before her grin quickly turned to a frown.

"We'll have to deal with the headmaster," she stated uneasily, clearly recognizing that she would need some help pulling all the strings necessary to make this work.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Kingsley voiced sagely to his boss.

Seeing that the statement wasn't as effective as he had hoped, he tried another route, "And if what Peter has said is true, the youngest Weasley was the one responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets. Maybe he has the diary that Lord Malfoy's agent gave Peter to smuggle in... Which is even more damning evidence to hold against him," he mused.

She weighed his suggestion carefully, "I suppose I need to talk to the Headmaster."

**End of Chapter**

**Author Notes: **I know this chapter has been rather slow pace with alot of filler contents, but with this story year coming to the end, I fill it time to start rounding up plot holes. Then I'm also working on character development for further years.

**Chapter 14** as been reposted as well, I hope this makes up for longer update time; I'm also making good progress in chapter 37 with around 6k words written so far... I think this either going to be another very longer chapter, or will end up breaking it down into two smaller chapters.

**Question/Poll : **Who do you think Harry should asked out? – Remember, this character relationship will not be the final pairing, but just Harry first girlfriend in a long line of pairings until Harry finally settles on someone. Also remember that Harry's still 12 years old, even if his mental age is far higher...

**Thanks for Reading**


	37. Y2 Confrontation Pt 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Notes: **I put time stamps in this chapter to help make it easier to follow so please read them**.**

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 37 Confrontation Pt 1**

**Posted 25th July 2013**

**Revised and****Beta by ****Joe Lawyer**

**Ravenclaw Tower - (Sunday Evening)**

He silently watched as the winter sun slowly set behind the distant hilltops, as darkness once again claimed the ancient castle. He took in this beautiful sight while patiently waiting for his dear friend Penny to return to her quarters for the evening. Despite the peaceful sunset he had just watched, he was still rather nervous, his stomach doing little loops and turns like a rollercoaster. For weeks now his close friend had been avoiding him for whatever reason, but he had finally built up the courage necessary to confront her, to talk to her, and try to mend the broken bridge lying between them.

Predictably, he had gone to his godfather and elder cousin for advice on just what to do, how to make amends, etc. Ultimately, though, they weren't here, standing in the girl's bedroom, waiting for her inevitable return. Truthfully, he felt so out of his depth right now, just standing there waiting for the older Ravenclaw to return. After all, most kids have had friendships for years, since their preschool days even, and inevitably had some experience with swallowing their pride and saying 'I'm sorry' to help mend fences. But not him, he had never had friends before coming to Hogwarts; they had always been driven away with alacrity by his cousin and his gang of sycophant bullies. So, for once, despite all his intelligence and cunning and understanding of the harsh realities of the world, he knew he was way out of his depth, with no insight or experience of his own to call upon. In fact he just had some well-meaning advice from others to help guide his actions and a few books he'd read on psychology.

Maybe he was overreacting, over thinking everything just like he normally did, but Penny was the second friend he ever had and he didn't want to lose that friendship without doing everything in his power to try to save it, even if he had to apologize for something he didn't even realize he'd done.

"I'm going soft," Harry muttered quietly to himself as a small smile appeared on his lips. He gracefully moved away from the bedroom window while pushing a rogue lock of hair back behind his left ear. If this had happened just a year ago, he would have simply dismissed it and not have bothered with her anymore, and cut her off permanently from his favour. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, the older Ravenclaw had somehow managed to crawl her way into his cold heart over the last year and a bit. Catching his own reflection in the dressing table glamour mirror, he saw a soft smile on his lips, an energy in his eyes, that soft but visible sparkle he often saw in other students that were full of life and energy around the school.

Smiling at the sudden realization, "But I'm happier now than I was," he admitted aloud, both to himself and to the empty room.

Now that he thought more about it, it was probably due to all the friends he had made since coming to Hogwarts, coupled with the discovery of having a godfather and family that actually cared about him. _True family_. He thought about Ted and Andy and their daughter Tonks. All of them had subtly worked together and had, without his even realizing it, pulled him out of the cold, hard protective shell that he had erected to protect himself from his abusive relatives and the harsh world around him.

Rather than dwelling on the past, he pushed the hateful and negative thoughts that always rose up in him when thinking of his relatives to one side, and through sheer force of will chose to instead focus on his friends and newly found family, rather than letting the memories of his childhood sour his current mood. Right now he was here to talk to Penny and try to fix their damaged friendship. Thoughts of Penny led him to fondly remember their midnight adventure together, followed by waking up the next morning in bed together.

He couldn't help but smile when he recalled Penny's reaction, whilst another more primal part of him wished he had taken the opportunity to kiss her, to taste her for himself that night. It was at that moment that he realized something quite shocking; he had a 'crush' on the beautiful older Ravenclaw who had wormed her way into his heart. He cleared his mind of such primitive thoughts; it certainly wasn't the time for such fantasies and emotions.

Looking back over towards Penny's fine glamour table and matching mirror set, he considered for a moment the idea of enchanting the glass so that he could observe his friend more closely, but he quickly dismissed it. She _was_ afriend and ally, he told himself, therefore he would respect her privacy, even if their friendship wasn't on the best of terms at the moment. However, if their friendship suddenly ended tonight he would feel free to spy on her, but for now he _would_ respect her privacy, he silently vowed.

That was one of many things he was learning now after setting up several more enchanted mirrors around the school; specifically that he needed to learn to respect other peoples' privacy. This was for several good reasons. The first was that he was spending more and more time watching them, like a drug addict looking for a fix, watching them for any secret of value to exploit now or in the future, instead of prudently focusing on his grades and his other more pressing side projects. The second reason was that he hated the thought of being spied upon himself, so therefore he was being rather hypocritical for doing so on others... But at the same time, he understood just how powerful such an information network could be, therefore, he was unwilling to just totally stop his activities regardless of the ethical implications. After all, he had already learnt from the spy glasses that the headmaster had his own spy network over the entire school. He shuddered to think at how long he would have remained ignorant of the old thief's capabilities without the mirrors, or how many of his plans might have been discovered and countered before he caught on.

In the end he had looked for some type of middle ground to assuage his guilt over the spying and the sheer usefulness of such information, something to justify the creation and existence of the spy network he was developing and planning to deploy on a much wider scale. He finally settled on a promise to himself; that he would only use the network sparingly, and that its use would be limited to spying only on his enemies and rivals, rather than the general population of Hogwarts. Naturally, if you weren't his friend then you were a possible rival and competitor, so that gave him a rather large loophole if needs be. Nevertheless, _his_ original objective had been achieved; he now knew that the idea of the enchanted spy mirrors forming an information network worked and could be deployed outside the walls of Hogwarts in the real world, where much more valuable information waited. The concept had been proven handily. He sat down on the floor next to Penny's bed to continue his wait, his head gently resting back against the covers.

Another half an hour passed before his friend finally turned up, but he put the half an hour to good use while sharpening his mind magic and organizing and filing away some of his more recent memories. As soon as she walked through the door he looked up to meet her eyes, registering the surprise they held. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked carefully, with a hint of nervousness, testing the proverbial waters as he took a closer look at his friend.

Several seconds passed before Penny finally answered him, her voice faint, showing signs of fatigue. "I'm fine Harry. What do you want?" she answered, while she closed the dorm room door.

"I wanted to talk to _you_," he voiced sincerely as he stood up from the floor, fighting off the leg cramps as he met her striking eyes. "I want to find out what I've done wrong? What's causing you to avoid me? I want to mend the bridge between us; I want _my_ friend back."

"Harry, please, can we do this another time? I'm very tired," Penny expressed.

"Just so you can avoid me for another three weeks?" he asked rhetorically. "I just want to know what's up. I want to talk to my friend again." He decided it was time to swallow his pride, "So, I'm sorry for whatever I've done to upset you; can you please forgive me?"

"That's the thing Harry," Penny expressed with a sad smile. "I don't believe you."

"Why?" he demanded, his anger swelling and growing under her sad, pitying eyes.

"You lie, you manipulate, you steal... so easily," Penny's voice accused, whilst looking down at him with a hint of pity. "You play with people like they are chess pieces, always measuring their worth and value to _you _alone. You're always scheming, always looking for some type of advantage and benefit to be gained in every situation. I would bet all the gold in my purse that you even have something planned out for Luna, your student who has thrived under your teaching, who even now looks at you with such loyalty and adoration. Even for her, I bet that somewhere in the back of your mind there is a scheme involving her somehow."

"So? I judge people, weighing their positives merits against their negative ones," Harry defended with a hint of anger in his voice, whilst wondering why it was wrong. After all, people did this all the time on a subconscious level; it was a basic instinct, honed by millions of years of evolution. "Everyone does it; I'm just honest about it rather than hiding that fact. The Slytherins recognize that intrinsically, they would say that that's simply the way the real world works," still not seeing the issue at all.

"What am _I_ to you then? What am I _worth_?" Penny asked, stepping closer to him, causally putting her book bag to one side. "Am I worth more or less to you than Daphne? Am I higher or lower than Tracy? Or am I merely a long-term investment, just like one of your businesses? All this year you've made it clear to me that the Head Girl position is one of your goals for me, but you never stopped and asked me if _I_ wanted it, just assuming I would take it."

"No, you're my friend, Penny," he expressed carefully and quietly. "I just want you to do well; I want you to reach your full potential. I don't want the backward nature of the Ministry or this prejudiced culture to hold you back; I just want you to do well."

"You're lying, Harry," Penny expressed, her sorrowful blue eyes meeting his own. "I may not be able read your thoughts with magic, but I know you, I know your little tells. How could I not, after watching you so closely this last year?" Silence fell across the bedroom. "Do you know what a friend really is Harry?" she suddenly asked. He thought about the question and what his answer might be.

"Because I don't think you truly do," Penny added sadly. "Because a friend doesn't judge a person simply by their value to him or her, nor by their individual skills and abilities that might be useful to them down the road. They do it by how they make them feel."

"Someone you care for, " Harry offered with a smile, not sure how he would explain what a friend was to him without thinking of benefits and alliances.

"That's vague Harry, even for you," Penny expressed with a disappointed half smile. "I want a friend who doesn't think of me as some tool, or as an asset to exploit, who doesn't constantly measure me against everyone else," she explained, her hand resting on her chest as she spoke. "Who won't manipulate and play me like you did last year into stealing that stuff, or into taking that gold. Or this year with the polyjuice potion. You used me as a tool, and all tools eventually get replaced and discarded when they've lost their usefulness. I want a friend, who wants to be with me, for me. Not because I currently benefit them, not because I'm some type of asset to use and exploit."

"Have you not benefited as well from my friendship? Has the knowledge I've shared, not helped you in myriad ways?" Harry asked, trying to understand Penny's mind.

"Yes, it has," she admitted easily. "But it's like your handing out rewards, like a treat to a favoured pet," Penny voiced, before once again facing him, her eyes burning with a hint of anger. "I am not a pet Harry; I am my own person."

"Then you stole that special map from Neville and his friends. Neville and his friends had a falling out about that. Their trust in one another has been broken, and they'll probably never get what they had back. Your actions have broken and irreparably damaged another person's friendship, but you don't care about that at all."

"My father helped to create that map, not the Longbottoms," he spat in his own defence. "So did my godfather. It was mine by right, not Longbottom's and Weasley's, _mine_!" He countered with disgust and anger at the thought of Ron's dirty hands holding such a treasured item, one of the few links left to his father.

She nodded her head in understanding, her blonde ponytail dancing as she turned back to face him. "Yes, I understand that, Harry," she admitted with soft sad smile. "You don't have much of your family left, so you grasp at the things that remain, seizing them, just like you said Tom Riddle did. But _you_ don't feel guilty about the fact that those five boys now believe that one of them stole it. Not a bit. I look at you, and I see a miniature Tom Riddle in the making," he was shocked to the core at such a remark, at being compared to a mass murderer, one whose followers killed his parents.

"I looked him up you know," Penny continued. "He was charming, smart, and hard working, all the things that you appear to be, but look at what he became... I can't help but wonder if you will be the same?"

Ignoring the remark about Tom Riddle, his anger swelled. "So you're upset with me because I'm a cold hearted bastard?" Harry asked her, his anger seeping into his voice. "I am what I am, because I didn't have the luxury of a real childhood. Yes, I'm a jerk and a manipulative asshole, a schemer and a plotter, but it was what I needed to be to survive!" he freely admitted with a snarl. "Unlike _you,_ Penny, I didn't have a loving mother to hold me. I didn't have someone to mend my cuts. I didn't have someone to whisper words in my ears to drive away my childish fears. I grew harder, I grew smarter, I grew colder, more calculating, because I had to. I stole food, so I wouldn't starve; to numb the pains in my empty stomach. I learnt to manipulate bullies to beat up others, so they wouldn't hurt _me_ anymore," he admitted with indifference as his anger turned to rage, churning and boiling, slamming against the emotional barriers he'd built from childhood and later fortified with magic. But it all proved inadequate to hold back these turbulent tides, laughable even, his emotions shifting, becoming unstable, becoming chaotic.

"I'm a product of my environment," he added, as he turned to walk away from his friend. "Since I've come to Hogwarts Penny, I've been nothing but honest about what I am, though you are only just starting to see it, it seems."

"There you are, playing the guilt card again Harry," Penny expressed with another sad shake of her head. "Deflecting all the blame onto your relatives. I knew you would use that as a defence, and yes I know your childhood wasn't cosy, it was rough. Hell, I doubt words could truly describe it. But you're no longer with your relatives, you're no longer under their thumb, you're no longer being bullied or beaten, but yet you still operate the same way," she argued. "And yes, you're right, and I'm only just starting to see you for what you truly are, and I don't like it. You're not the lost boy I first saw as just needing a friend. Not the lost boy needing a shoulder."

Sighing, he quickly moved to leave the room when he felt the first tears stir in his eyes, before he abruptly stopped and turned back to face her one final time. "I am what I am," Harry voiced defiantly, despite his eyes betraying the emotional pain he was feeling at his friend's harsh words. "If I was such a cold, manipulative, heartless bastard as you so believe, why haven't I then claimed Hermione's life debt already? Why have I chosen to ignore her all this time when such an intelligent young girl like her could be such a useful future _asset_ to me? Someone I could easily use?" he asked the older Ravenclaw as she frowned in response.

"But thank you for reminding me of that oversight I've obviously made," he voiced coldly, despite the unshed tears in his eyes. "But consider this, last year I killed for you; I killed that troll and held you in _my_ arms as you slowly died. I had _your_ blood on my hands." He voiced, looking back at her coldly, angrily. "I didn't have to fight that troll; I didn't have to risk my life for yours. I could have easily run away like cold, ruthless logic would have demanded, but I didn't; I stayed. Without a moment's hesitation I leaped into the fight, I put my life on the line for yours, and I would do it again, because you are my friend, no matter what you believe about me. Afterwards, when you were in the hospital wing, I checked on you daily, I was there dutifully waiting for you to wake up."

"So call me what_ you_ want, Penny," Harry expressed sourly, coldly, "But I do think of _you_ as a friend, I don't think of you as purely an asset for my gain."

"What are you going to do Harry?" Penny questioned nervously.

"You're a smart girl Penny, you've already made it clear that you think you know me _so_ well," he voiced, his lips curling. "So why don't you work it out?" he answered, before leaving the room and slamming the door shut behind him as he went. Every part of him screamed at him go to the Gryffindor common room this instant and claim the Gryffindor for himself, to screw Penny over, to get back at her for hurting him so badly. In the end he buried that destructive impulse, instead choosing to head to his own dorm room, tears freely flowed down his red cheeks. His emotions were out of control, raging like a confused and wounded beast as he fought to control them, to bring order back to chaos, to restore his emotional balance.

"I've grown soft, too soft," he muttered, as he walked towards his room, the tears streaming down his puffy face, as his door opened automatically for him. "Never again," he promised, as he locked the door with a silent flick of his wand, the high security charms activating while he slipped into a lotus position on his bed, before he heard someone try to open his door.

Ignoring the harsh knocking and attempts to open his bedroom door, he quickly slipped into his rampaging mind, into his magical core, trying to tame the emotional beast within him.

'Never again,' he promised himself as he slipped deeper and deeper into his magical core, vowing that he would become stronger.

Reaching his core a sense of inner peace came over him, calming his emotions. He slowly opened his eyes, only to be met by another pair of sharp yellow feline eyes, inches from his own. The spiritual tiger stared right back at him, as if judging him, weighing him, it's breath hot on his face as the winter snow continued to gently fall around them. The tiger spirit slowly circled around him, silently weaving between the snow and ice covered pine trees, never taking its eyes off of him. The tiger was young, perhaps a young adult like himself, but it had jagged scars running along its beautiful orange and gold fur, the signs of battles won, of hardships overcome. This tiger was a survivor, a creature that had endured hardship and countless trials, forged and hardened in the fires of adversity, changed, but _not_ broken; _it was him_.

With this realization, he felt a permanent, lifelong, and immutable connection form between them. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. Then, it leapt at him. In mid leap it turned into a creature of white energy, maintaining the form of a tiger, but with hints of orange and gold. It crashed into his body, merging with him, infusing him, as the spiritual magic coursed through his veins, touching him everywhere at once, every cell of his being, as he felt his magic shift and alter.

Then he felt it, the changing, accompanied by a sudden unexpected rush of pain along his glowing limbs, amongst his cells, as every fibre in his body felt like it was on fire from the inside. The fire of change grew steadily stronger until he was harshly brought back to the waking world, to the reality of his dorm room.

Looking down at his glowing limbs, they shifted and changed before his eyes. He watched in awe and wonder as he realized what was happening to him. Even as he felt the touch of an animal mind pressing against his own, merging with his own, his world started to shift and change around him as he fell forward onto his huge, glowing paws, and sharp claws.

Then it happened. His senses were suddenly bombarded with new sensations and information, of new smells and new sights, at new colours his human eyes had never seen but could now perceive with his new eyes. He even gave a growl instead of a gasp.

Harry James Potter, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Peverell, acknowledged heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, was now an animagus. Just like his Godfather was, just like father before him. A wave of calm washed over him, and in its wake his doubts and fears just disappeared.

**Midnight Lord**

**Great Hall - Monday (Lunch Time)**

He sat down at the Hufflepuff table the next morning, right next to his currently gossiping cousin. No one objected to him sitting there with them since it was now well known that they were family. He took a ham and cheese sandwich from one of the silver serving trays as he waited patiently for the exchange to end.

"Hey Tonks, can I talk to you in private in a couple minutes?" He asked, wanting to share his new secret and accomplishment with his beloved cousin.

"Sure Harry," Tonks quickly agreed, before turning back to her friends.

"Thanks," he replied, whilst silently shifting his attention back to watching the Great Hall for anything of note. His eyes caught Penny's briefly, the pair of them just looking at one another, causing his emotions to begin to stir restlessly before he looked away.

"Mr Potter, where were _you_ this morning? You missed your DADA lesson again," Professor Flitwick asked, taking him by surprise as the short professor suddenly appeared behind him.

"Sleeping, I'm not much of a Monday morning person," he answered easily, with a minor grin, as several students turned to look at the unfolding exchange, giving him curious looks. "And you should call it drama class professor, or how to do your hair for maximum effect, since we haven't been taught anything related to the subject." He commented as several male students chuckled around him, whilst others grumbled in agreement at the truth of his assessment.

He watched as the charms master puffed himself up like a puffer fish in response, "Harry, you can't continue to skip DADA lessons just because you disapprove of the professor's teaching style," the charms master lectured. "That will be detention this Saturday morning; I'm most disappointed in you," the short professor shaking his head in disapproval, trying the guilt trip card on him again, to similar results as last time.

Realising that he would be forced to miss Quidditch practice and that most of the team would be on his backside about it, he recognized the charms professor's clever little game. But he didn't care too much; it was just a game, one which he had no long term interests in. After all, he seriously doubted that he would go professional after leaving Hogwarts. Although starting up his own team and building his own grand stadium, that sounded much more lucrative. He smiled back at his head of house, unconcerned, "Alright then," Harry quickly agreed with an uncaring shrug of his shoulders, the tiger in him demanding that he not back down in the face of such a blatant challenge.

Eventually the pair of them made their way to the Swansong Rooms, "So what did you want to talk to me about Harry?" the pink haired 'puff asked, as she threw herself onto one of the comfortable leather couches and got comfortable.

He smiled back at her, while he pushed his hair out of his eyes, "Tonks, I want to show you something amazing," Harry told his cousin.

"What exactly do you want to show me Harry?" Tonks enquired, with a hint of eagerness.

"I finally achieved my animagus form last night and I wanted to show it to you _first_," Harry expressed with a pride filled smile, wanting to show off his greatest achievement yet to someone he cared about, whose opinion and respect mattered greatly to him. And it was an open secret amongst his family that he was learning to become an animagus, like his godfather and father before him, so Tonks was a safe choice.

"Really?! You've done it?" Tonks exclaimed excitedly, whilst bolting upright in her seat. "Sirius said that it would take _years_ to achieve your form. Even Professor McGonagall said it takes a long time to master, even by adult wizards and witches."

"Well, I've done it," he boasted proudly. "And I'm rather happy with my alternate form."

"What is it?" Tonks asked excitedly, like a kid at Christmas.

"How about I just _show_ _you_," Harry responded with a feline grin, as he willed his body to transition, summoning the inner tiger that was always with him now. His body suddenly felt hot all over and his bones began to shift and transform, his body becoming longer, his senses becoming shaper, his sight shifting, adjusting, as his jaw disconnected and remoulded itself to that of an apex predator.

**Midnight Lord**

"How about I just show you," Harry expressed with an eager grin. She watched in mute silence as her cousin's body changed, his limbs started glowing with whitish gold energy, his body leaning forward and falling heavily on to all fours. He shifted before her eyes, as she watched his teeth shift, growing longer and sharper, as a tiger suddenly appeared out of the light. Gasping for air, as she'd unknowingly held her breath, she took in Harry's impressive and deadly beautiful feline form, even as Harry slowly started to advance towards her, his amber eyes locked on to her, holding them as she felt a shiver of instinctive fear race down her back, at her recognition of a predator.

Warily she watched him advance on her as she registered his powerful muscular legs, longer she assumed to help with jumping and lunging at prey. She noticed too how his tail swung side to side in time with his strides. He suddenly turned to the side and brushed up against her legs, just like Shadow did whenever he wanted attention, a loud giggle escaped her lips at this and helped her to relax and let go of the death grip she had on the wand she didn't even realize she was holding. She smiled down at her feline cousin as he gracefully jumped up onto the couch next to her, his claws obviously retracted as she didn't heard the leather of the couch being punctured. His mightily large head fell to rest onto her lap whilst she mentally registered just how heavy he was. He tilted his head to one side to look up at her with the same deep amber eyes, a bit of a grin on his face, although the facial muscles obviously weren't intended for such a thing.

Instinctively stroking his rich auburn, gold striped fur, she noticed that it was layered with softer, finer fur nearer to his pelt. He gave a rumbling purr of approval to her gentle touch encouraging her further as she gently stroked the back of his ears, but at the same time noticing scars hidden beneath the fur. "You're beautiful Harry," she whispered, giving words to her thoughts, as she continued to stroke Harry's rich fur, whilst wondering what it was like to be a Tiger, as she felt the hard muscles beneath her fingers.

Then the answer came to her, 'Powerful... and deadly.'

**Midnight Lord**

She subtly sniffed the air as she once again examined her prized seventh year class of students. All 15 of them were dutifully working on their independent transfiguration skills, as they vigorously revised the material for the upcoming NEWT level examinations. However, today for some reason, she just couldn't get settled, couldn't relax; there was a new smell around, a powerful, heavy musk hanging in the air, tugging at the instincts in the back of her mind. Her inner cat sensed danger, the need to flee from that of a larger predator nearby, lurking, hunting, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end and her ears to twitch at every sudden sound.

"Mr. Redstone," she suddenly snapped at the seventh year Gryffindor, the seventh year spinning around in panic. "Less time talking with Miss Kessler, more time focusing on your own work," she lectured, whilst giving the boy a stern look of disapproval, and the silent promise that she would be watching him.

Continuing to move amongst her students she noticed that _the _smell, the heavy scent was lingering around Miss Tonks, one of her star pupils, causing her to move in to investigate the Hufflepuff more closely. After several long minutes of discreetly studying Miss Tonks, whilst subtly sniffing the air around her, she confirmed that Miss Tonks was the source of the thick, heavy scent. "Miss Tonks, are you wearing a new type of perfume?" Professor McGonagall enquired.

"No professor," the pink hair girl replied, her face showing signs of confusion as the rest of class listened in.

"Nothing new today? No new shampoo or body wash for instance?" she enquired, trying to solve the mystery of the new odour.

"No professor, I used the same ones I always use," the seventh year replied, her hair taking on a hint of red.

"Never mind then," Professor McGonagall answered, dismissing the issue and allowing the girl to get back to her work. Several minutes later she suddenly recalled where she had smelled a similar scent before, her old mind recalling the muggle zoo she had once visited.

"Miss Tonks, do you have a cat?" she suddenly asked.

"No professor, the closest thing I have to a cat of my own is my cousin's, _Shadow_" she replied, giving her a confused look.

"Don't take this the wrong way dear, but for some reason you smell like a cat today and it's roused my feline senses," she offered in explanation whilst tapping the tip of her nose, the Hufflepuff in question suddenly blushing red in embarrassment.

**Headmaster Office - (Monday Afternoon)**

"Good afternoon, Harry," the aged headmaster greeted warmly as he entered the office. "Right on time, just as usual."

"Of course," he replied, as he took his usual seat.

"Lemon drop?" the elderly wizard offered, holding out the silver bowl filled with yellow, tear drop shaped candies.

"No thank you headmaster," he politely declined as he reached into his own robe pocket for his own selection of sweets, before he carefully unwrapped the red packaging and tin foil, throwing the red cherry favoured sweet into his mouth. "Cherry drop headmaster?" he offered with a grin, as the headmaster's own lips twitched in amusement at his familiar offer being turned back on him.

"If you don't mind," the headmaster expressed with a distinct sparkle in his eye, his old bony fingers cupping the cherry drop before placing it in his mouth. "Hmm... that's rather nice," the headmaster noted.

"What is it you wished to see me about Professor?" Harry enquired smoothly.

"I wanted to discuss several important things with you. As far as the rest of staff are concerned, I'm discussing your recent behaviour." The headmaster offered with a coy smile, "I have taken the liberty of rearranging your detention with Professor Flitwick this Saturday. Instead you'll be serving your detention with me this upcoming Wednesday night, where we can spend the evening discussing the many mysteries of magic. I think you'd agree that that's a far more productive use of your time to writing lines."

He smiled at the good news, "Thank you Headmaster," Harry expressed whilst at the same time wondering what the headmaster's game was.

"No problem my _boy_," the headmaster casually remarked as Harry fought the urge to call him out on his inappropriate familiarity. "After all, it seems awfully wrong to punish you for achieving such an extraordinary feat of magic at such a young age, just like your father and godfather before you," Dumbledore expressed, his eyes sparkling. "To become an animagus at so young an age is almost unheard of."

"An animagus, headmaster? _You_ flatter me," Harry announced, playing for time whilst trying to work out how the elder wizard had found out so soon.

"There is no need to lie, Harry," the headmaster scolded lightly, with clear amusement lining his features. "You _should_ be proud of your achievement; not many people achieve such an ability, let alone such an impressive creature as a tiger."

"How did you know?" Harry asked, realizing that he had been definitively found out if the man knew his form as well. He was caught, like a fish in a net, and it would be counterproductive at this point to continue denying it.

Smiling, he answered Harry's question, "Well, this past Christmas I helped to erect several new wards around the school. One of them was an animagus detection ward, supported by a secondary animagus identification ward, otherwise Professor McGonagall would set it off nightly," the headmaster offered with a smile. "Naturally, I put an additional set of security wards over Ravenclaw tower and further wards over your dorm room for added security, along with Gryffindor tower. So when suddenly last night they triggered and much to my surprise they registered a tiger animagus in your room, rather than a rat, or a housecat, I naturally concluded it was you," he explained proudly to Harry, with a smirk on his old smug lips.

"After all, your late father was one, so is your godfather, therefore it was predictable you would learn the skill in time. I have to admit, though, I didn't expect it as a second year," the headmaster expressed with amusement. "I personally expect Professor McGonagall will be intensely quizzing you soon enough."

"Indeed," Harry confirmed, with a hint of bitterness, whilst giving the elder wizard a slight bow of his head, acknowledging the headmaster's deductive prowess. He silently cursed himself for failing to hide his new ability. Both his father and godfather had been able to keep the secret for years, but he had been found out in less than a fucking day. Of course he realized that these new wards were the problem. His father and godfather had not had to deal with that particular issue while still in school. His successful transition has also been rather sudden and unexpected as well. Nevertheless, he would need to expand his knowledge of wards to determine just what had been placed on his dorm room and work to prevent their information gathering.

"So tomorrow morning you _will _be escorted to the Ministry of Magic so that you can register, just like the law requires," the headmaster stated firmly. "After all, we don't want a repeat of what happened to your godfather. Either myself or Professor McGonagall will escort you." Harry realized that the headmaster was protecting his own ass.

"Wouldn't my _own_ head of house be more appropriate for such an escort?" Harry enquired, since this seemed like Professor Flitwick's job, rather than Professor McGonagall's, who he had easily identified as a hardcore Dumbledore worshipper and was either blind or chose not to see the many failings and sins of the headmaster.

"Yes, he would be," the elder wizard stated as his hands folded across his lap. "_But_ he has several lessons tomorrow morning whilst Professor McGonagall doesn't, plus Minerva also happens to know the relevant ministry procedures and paperwork involved," the headmaster listed with a kind hearted smile.

He felt his anger stir at the headmaster as he realized the political game that was being played. With the well known cat animagus escorting him through the Ministry everyone would automatically assume that she had taught him the skill, rather than the truth, that it was almost entirely self taught. People would also assume it was due to the prowess of a Hogwarts' education rather than by his own intense efforts, boosting the school's prestige as a byproduct of his hard work. He would be no one's pawn or means to take unearned credit to enhance their public image. Perhaps an interview with Rita would work to ensure that no one thought Hogwarts had any part in his success? He'd have to think more on that. "_Sirius_ will be escorting me," he stated, interrupting the headmaster's speech. "He is my magical guardian; it is his responsibility to escort me outside school grounds, not the school's, not yours."

"Naturally," the chief warlock agreed with a laidback smile.

"Can I go now Professor? I need to _contact _my godfather," Harry asked coldly, fighting to keep his emotions in check.

Smiling back at him before waving his old hand in dismissal, "Of course," the headmaster agreed, leaning back in his chair, as Harry quickly rose from his seat. However, just before he could leave the office the headmaster suddenly spoke up, "That will be 150 points to Ravenclaw House."

'At least that's something,' he mentally noted, as he left the room to inform his godfather and research the current laws on being an animagus and its registration requirements, privately hoping the library could provide him with some positive answers. Who knows, there might be some alternate means of registration, either with the ICW or with another country that would suffice. It would be unlikely for a foreign registration to be found out by his many enemies. Or there might be some loophole or privilege for a Lord or heir to exploit on that front. The point was, he just didn't know, but he'd do his best to find out.

**Great Hall (Dinner Time)**

"Yes Davis, I already _got_ the detention changed to this Wednesday night; I'll be there Saturday morning despite what Chang's told you," Harry patiently explained to the Quidditch team captain, who seemed to calm down at the unexpected news.

"Good," Davis announced smugly, like he had just won an argument before walking away.

'Fucking idiot,' he mentally muttered as he sat back down at the Ravenclaw table next to his close friend, whilst sending a look over towards a red faced Chang.

"How are you today?" He enquired, looking over towards Padma.

"I'm fine, thank you Harry. What about you?" Padma asked as she enjoyed her evening meal.

Despite the headmaster finding out his secret he was still in rather a good mood. After all, only the headmaster knew of it so far. "Rather good, thanks," he admitted with a sly grin. "Even with the detention and being called to the headmaster's office," she gave him look of disapproval at this.

However, before Padma could reply, the harsh accusing voice of Professor Snape cut through the air, immediately silencing the entire population of the Great Hall. "Headmaster! I demand to know how you can justify giving Ravenclaw house 150 points! I hope you're not playing favourites again like you did last year with Gryffindor," reminding all the houses of the previous school year's last minute events in the awarding of the house cup.

"Fuck me," Harry muttered, attracting some strange looks from the surrounding Ravenclaws as Padma gave him a sharp look.

"I'd also like to know Albus. There's no reason why the points were awarded in the points' log book," Professor McGonagall spoke sternly, taking her chance at getting some revenge for the previous year.

He watched as the headmaster silently stood up from his chair whilst fluttering his bright cyan robes. "Please calm down my friends, the points are quite justified," the aged wizard seemingly explained to the entire hall, even if he was facing the deputy headmistress and his voice had absolutely no need to be so loud for her to hear with her so close.

"Really? Please enlighten us headmaster," Professor McGonagall pushed as he mentally groaned.

A grandfatherly smile appeared on the headmaster's jolly features, "Mr. Potter has achieved something truly amazing for his age; something I believe that you yourself have often spoken highly about Professor McGonagall," the headmaster explained to both the staff and the population of the hall whilst everyone suddenly looked at him, their combined eyes staring at him which he pointedly ignored in favour of enjoying his evening meal, his mind running a mile a minute as to what was happening and how he should respond if this went down like he thought it would. "I felt that awarding Mr. Potter 150 points for becoming an animagus, a skill you have often said takes years to master, if not decades to achieve by _adult_ wizards and witches, was easily worthy of 150 points being rewarded. Especially for a second year to master such a skill," the headmaster explained.

"Potter, an animagus? Don't make me laugh," Severus spat on reflex as several students giggled at the hidden insult.

"I must admit, I too find it hard to believe that Mr. Potter is an animagus, despite his superb skill in transfiguration. Becoming an animagus is an extremely hard skill to master, it took me just over 4 years to learn," Professor McGonagall seconded.

Realising that he had very little hope of keeping his ability secret with the whole hall hearing the headmaster's announcement, the cat was very much out of the bag, despite how much he wanted the bag to remain hidden away under a fidelius. Of course, he could lie and deny any knowledge of the skill, but that would only buy him a limited amount of time before he was eventually discovered. It would then become public knowledge that he had lied...thus damaging his reputation. And any rumours that he was an illegal animagus would be immediately investigated by the Ministry, ultimately leading to him being discovered and fined, and he had little that doubt some students would write home immediately to inform their parents of the latest gossip and events in the school... Also being caught red handed in breaking the law would alienate the ever stern Madam Bones, who he was on rather good terms with at the moment and wanted to remain that way for a long time to come.

In addition, he couldn't use the childish excuse of being ignorant of the law, after hearing both the headmaster's words and the events of the previous year. Plus he was Lord Potter-Peverell, if he was questioned by the Ministry his official status as Lord of those houses, rather than heir, would eventually be revealed to the world during the investigation. This would allow the ministry to prosecute him as an adult and to use truth serum on him. This could result in him revealing more of his secrets under interrogation and could even lead to him revealing his forceful recruitment of Rita, as well as being a parselmouth, if the right questions were asked. Both his and Sirius' political enemies would use the situation to their own advantage, leading to his name being smeared across the front page of the Daily Prophet, damaging his well cultivated reputation and undermining their growing influence before it got too strong.

On the other hand, he also had the opportunity for his reputation to soar to even greater heights amongst his peers and their parents they'd inevitably tell, especially after everyone had just heard both professor Snape's and McGonagall's remarks about the difficulty involved in becoming an animagus and how they strongly doubted his ability to become one at his young age. And, truthfully, a tiger was a rather impressive form in any case, and it was nothing to be ashamed about.

His decision made, it was time for some damage control and perhaps some opportunity seizing. He silently and slowly stood up with purpose, grabbing the entire hall's attention and that of the gathered staff. Closing his eyes his body started to glow with energy, his bones shifting and remoulding themselves, his muscles stretching to the muted silence of the Great Hall, as his body started to grow longer, his senses becoming sharper, his sight shifting, as his jaw began remoulding itself. Opening his new eyes, he started to gracefully prowl around the silent Great Hall, his highly sensitive nose picking up the smells of different meats which stirred his primal hunger. He glided gracefully, stalking between the house tables towards Professor Snape, whose mouth was hanging open, much like the stunned Professor McGonagall's.

Several cats suddenly gave him warning hisses from beneath the tables which caused him to instinctively bare his teeth in response and growl, showing off his sharp 4 inch canines causing several of the cats to quickly shoot out of the hall, whilst several owls flew to the safety of the rafters. Internally smiling at the response the animals gave him, he purposefully brushed up against his cousin who had a massive smirk on her features, her fingers running through his fur as he passed, whilst several of her braver neighbours followed her example and took the chance to stroke his fur as well.

"I believe I rest my case," the Headmaster announced smugly to the whispering Great Hall, as Tonks stroked him behind his ears causing him to purr at the pleasurable sensation.

"Professor McGonagall, I think you now know why I smelled like cat earlier," Tonks announced to the stunned professor as several of her year mates in that class with her suddenly chuckled.

"It's _just _an overgrown cat," Ron said dismissively, from where he was standing up on one of the benches to see better. He started to shift back to human form after hearing the insult.

"Mr. Weasley sit down, all of you sit down," the Deputy Headmistress barked, anger in her voice as students suddenly leapt into action around the hall. "And that's detention Mr. Weasley."

"What for?" the ginger haired idiot protested.

"For being an idiot," Harry added, just as he stood upright on two limbs, attracting several different looks from around the Great Hall. "Remember our first transfiguration lesson? With you, Neville, Dean and Seamus bursting in late to the lesson? There was a cat sitting stiffly on the desk?" he asked as Ron's face shifted into one of deep concentration and thought. Hermione rubbed her forehead in annoyance, whilst Ronald's older brothers just sniggered along with most of the Great Hall.

"I can't believe I'm related to him," he distinctly heard Percy say, getting his own chuckles.

"What is Professor McGonagall's animagus form?" he asked the confused boy as Hermione suddenly whispered in Ron's ear, the youngest male Weasley's face then morphing into one of horror, as his eyes darted to his Head of House.

"I quote, 'it's just an overgrown cat,'" Harry offered, using the same dismissive voice as Ron had just used moments earlier, causing several more students to giggle.

As he moved back to his seat he decided to remind everyone just why the tiger was considered so dangerous a predator, and why so many eastern cultures had it as their symbol of power. "You know Ronald," he announced, his voice carrying across the hall as everyone quieted down to listen. "It only takes 100 psi to snap a human's neck; a fully grown male lion's bite is around 650 psi, a tiger's bite, however, is around 1050 psi, that's almost eleven times what is required to kill a human. In many parts of the world tigers are the apex predator, killing anything that crosses their path," he lectured to the great hall. "I seriously doubt that a household cat can pop your skull like it's a balloon, right professor?" he asked the head of Gryffindor house.

"Indeed," Professor McGonagall agreed.

"What is psi?" another student asked.

"PSI is a measurement of exerted force, PSI is short for pounds per square inch," Harry offered in explanation as he sat down next to Padma, recalling the details easily from his tiger fact book. No sooner had his bum touched the wood of the bench, that the first of his housemates' many questions were launched at him.

**Ravenclaw Tower (Evening)**

Barricading himself in his dorm room to get away from his ravenous housemates' insatiable curiosity and their demanding questions, his mind once again went over the day's rapid fire events. The scheming headmaster had set him up today with his little performance piece in the Great Hall, played him masterfully, and had forced him into publically revealing his animagus form to the student body and in reality, likely the whole of magical Britain as letters winged home. He silently transitioned into the tiger, before curling up on his bed, his tail wrapped around him. His tiger form offered a refuge for him at the moment, a clarity of thought and purpose that cut away the bullshit; plus transitioning into that form often enough would allow him to reduce the overall time it took as he grew more and more comfortable with it. Hopefully, in time, he'd be able to transition as fast as his godfather could. Turning his mind back to current events, the only reason he could come up with to explain all this was that the headmaster wanted to cover his ass from any political consequences; but that was an awfully weak pretext to out him like that. Was this retribution for refusing McGonagall as an escort?

But that didn't quite fit either as his magic enhanced mind started to work it out, searching for a better fitting motive to explain the elderly wizard's behaviour today. After a bit of intense thought he settled on the simple, yet most likely answer of a power play, or a better term for it would be 'power display,' to remind him of his place.

Ever since he had come to Hogwarts in his first year he had outmanoeuvred the older wizard in their silent battle of wits, with each meeting Harry coming off the victor. Of course, an objective analysis of the facts would put down these victories not entirely due to his burgeoning skill and acumen, but mostly because he had been both underestimated and poorly understood by the Headmaster. It was a lethal combination that even a master politician like Dumbledore with a century of experience couldn't overcome easily or quickly. That was an advantage he no longer had and it left him feeling acutely vulnerable; his armour was nearly gone.

For the first time he had lost handily in their private little cold war and the headmaster had ruthlessly exploited his victory, forcing him to publically reveal his animagus form and had thus lost the surprise of a potent ability, one that may have even saved his life in the future. Now his enemies would be prepared for it. That wound cut deep.

The game had changed and the Headmaster was now taking him seriously, rather than treating him like any other second year student who was no threat to the man nor capable of seeing through his games. The headmaster was now playing the political game with him, he noted with distinct amusement at the thought of the great Albus Dumbledore treating him like a worthy adversary. Along with amusement, though, there was also the anger boiling beneath the surface, as a part of him wanted to rip the old man apart with his jaws and shred him with his claws.

The real question now was how should he respond? Should he roll over and play dead? Should he submit to the old man's authority and pray his attention moves elsewhere? Or should he withdraw back into the shadows to lick his wounds? He thoughtfully lowered his feline head onto his front paws, while carefully considering his options. Or perhaps should he counterattack?

'_Counter attack_,' he quickly concluded. He was a predator now. He would be no one's prey. He was Lord Potter-Peverell. His course now decided, the question was how to make the old wizard bleed, in the proverbial sense. What did the old wizard value the most, but was exposed and vulnerable enough that he could easily attack the man through it? After all, he was smart enough to recognise that despite his recent successes and victories, he and Sirius were still new players on the political battlefield of Great Britain, with very limited influence. That would change, in time, but right now they needed to be realistic about their position and its limitations. Therefore the Headmaster could not be confronted directly or even politically, he was just _too_ strong in that arena.

'Where to strike?' he thought, as he looked around his dorm room, before the answer suddenly came to him. 'Hogwarts,' he concluded with glee, as he decided to take a page out of Lucius Malfoy's own playbook, his feline jaw shifting into a cat like grin of pleasure as he started to plot his revenge. However, unlike the murderous pureblood lord, he wouldn't use an ancient and deadly basilisk to achieve his goals; he would use something far more subtle and wouldn't resort to violence. In many ways the truth could prove a far more potent weapon than violence.

He wanted to have the moral high ground after all...

**Professor Snape's Office**

"Severus, I would like to see you tomorrow night, it's important," the Headmaster stated seriously whilst standing in the doorway of his private office and connected quarters.

"Yes, Headmaster," he quickly agreed from his desk as he looked up from his paperwork. "Now will you tell me why you asked me to make that little scene over the 150 house points given? You _know_ I lost face there with my students," he said, while playing the guilt trip card.

"I just thought it was for the best to remind Mr. Potter that I'm the one in charge around here," the aged wizard offered in explanation, with a smug grin on his face. "He's gotten awfully big for his boots of late; I thought it would be best to teach him a lesson in humility, one which Sirius can't protect him from."

He considered the older wizard's answer, but already knew that there was a lot more to it that remained unsaid. Rather than indulging the Headmaster's need to boast and gloat over his victory, he decided to take another route. "Understandable I suppose, he has been rather arrogant this year. Hopefully this lesson will be enough," Severus expressed levelly before adding thoughtfully. "You know he will seek retribution for this."

"I'm sure he'll try," Albus expressed with a confident grin. "I have to admit I'm rather curious to see how he goes about it. I wonder if he'll try to prank me? The suspense is rather exciting, don't you think?"

He valiantly resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes in disapproval at another batty scheme that he inevitably would continue to be caught up in, whether he liked it or not. "Is there anything else?" he enquired from his chair, suppressing a tired sigh.

"Oh, yes," the grandfatherly wizard's face lighting up like a muggle Christmas tree. "I just received a new sweet called a cherry drop," offering Severus a red sweet which he grudging accepted from the offered packet, the rich juicy cherry taste rolling over his tongue.

"Hmm... They're surprisingly good," Severus voiced in agreement, whilst he sucked on the cherry flavoured sweet. "Far better than your preferred lemon drops," he voiced offhandedly, as the headmaster suddenly gave him a sour look at speaking ill of his most favourite candy.

"I've ordered the house elves to buy some more, I would like you to add the regular combination of potions to them, just like you normally do with the lemon drops," the headmaster instructed.

"Of course, headmaster," he readily agreed whilst suppressing a bored sigh. "Is there anything else?"

"No, I'll see you tomorrow night, we have much to discuss," Albus expressed seriously, before ruining the look by having another sweet.

**Midnight Lord**

**Hogwarts - Tuesday Morning **

He patiently waited in the Deputy Headmistress' office for his godfather to finally arrive, so he could make his escape from this insufferable school for a couple of hours and the never ending questions... 'What does it feel like to be a tiger? Does the world look different? Do you get hair balls?' were just a few of the many, many questions he'd been asked. He was grateful to the head of Gryffindor house for allowing him to hide here in her office until Sirius arrived, rather than continue to be hounded by his ever curious housemates. Already several of his more ambitious peers had taken up the challenge of becoming an animagus for themselves, under the logic, if he could do it, then so can I.

Personally, he was perfectly fine with them trying to replicate his success, since copying was said to be highest form of flattery, so it fed his growing ego quite nicely. Then there was the additional fact that he had done it first, as a mere second year, so his 'brilliance and prestige' couldn't be easily taken away from him, unless a first year did it somehow. And if it helped to promote some healthy drive and competition amongst his peers, he was game, since it would show who had the most potential and ability in the house.

On the other side of the coin, if they tried and failed, it may be even better for him, as it would also have the effect of increasing his own prestige and status and would remind everyone of the difficulty of the skill and just how impressive his accomplishment truly was. Plus if they got a less notable form, like that of a toad or a worm for instance, it would also benefit him by the comparison. So he was just fine with other students trying to copy him. He might even assist them if he felt like it, or they offered something valuable in exchange for his time... after all his time wasn't free, any minute he spent helping another individual meant one less spent helping himself and working on his many, many side projects with actual tangible value. Of course, there were some exceptions to this policy, like Luna, who he felt some kinship towards.

"Out of interest Harry, when did you start learning to become an animagus?" Professor McGonagall suddenly asked from her work desk, ending the comfortable silence that existed before.

Already expecting the question and prepared for it, he took an additional moment to further tailor his answer to the situation and the person asking. "Just before starting this school year," he offered back thoughtfully, before adding to it. "It was one of the many goals I'd set myself, for this year," the older animagus recomposed herself at this shocking news... "So 6 months all told, give or take a few days. However I did do some reading and research over the summer to begin the process and prepare myself for the challenge ahead."

"That's an impressive feat of magic Harry, especially to achieve the transformation in such a short span of time. But, I guess you had Sirius to help you out, to guide you," the cat animagus offered back. He felt like her offhanded remark about Sirius' help cheapened his success somehow.

"No actually, I took an entirely different route than Sirius and my father did," he offered back casually, whilst restraining his brewing anger and preventing any bit of it from showing on his face. He lazily turned a page of the book he had borrowed from the professor to further enhance the casual nature of his response.

"Oh, what was that?" the deputy headmistress asked, her personal interest stirring.

Smiling as he answered, "I didn't use the _standard_ revealing potion," he said with a hint of smugness shining through. "I used intensive meditation and self understanding to unlock the ability from within. It is said that by going through this much harder, more traditional route, the wizard is granted a deeper connection and understanding with one's animal form. That was appealing to me. The modern potion shortcut actually makes that impossible."

Before she could reply with her many additional questions, the stone fireplace suddenly sprang to life cutting her off, the red and orange flames changed to a magical green colour, announcing the incoming floo connection. Just as quickly as the flames changed colour, his godfather came marching through the magical flames, a proud smile on his face with an excited sparkle in his eyes.

"Well done pup," Sirius praised with a boyish grin. "I guess I won't be chasing your tail this summer after all."

He grinned with pride as Sirius gave him a lopsided hug, "Thanks, I wanted to surprise you this summer with it, but someone decided to announce it to the entire school instead," he offered back with a hint of bitterness as Sirius' face took on a slight frown.

"Indeed," Sirius expressed in agreement.

"So you agree with my idea then," Harry asked as he put on his outer robe, whilst he closed the loaned transfiguration textbook.

"Oh yes," Sirius confirmed, as Harry spotted the look of interest Professor McGonagall gave him at this cryptic exchange.

"We should get going," Harry prompted as he made to leave.

"Deputy Headmistress," Sirius spoke in a formal tone to his old head of house, as he made ready to leave. "We do not require nor desire an escort. In light of recent events it is made clear to me that the staff of Hogwarts does not respect its students' right to privacy, after such private information was shared in such a public forum without Harry's permission. You will be receiving a formal complaint over this incident and on the advice from _our_ lawyers, formal charges will be pressed against the school for invasion of privacy and breach of protocol regarding the heir of a Most Ancient and Noble house. This is the second time in two years my heir's right to privacy has been violated so egregiously," the dog animagus announced formally to the stunned Deputy Headmistress, whilst handing her a thick, sealed letter. "I'm also strongly considering removing my heir from Hogwarts permanently."

"Let's go Harry," Sirius barked as the two of them made to leave the office without a backwards glance, leaving behind a stunned Deputy Headmistress.

**Midnight Lord**

It took her several stupefied seconds to fully recover her wits from Sirius' announcement, as she quietly watched the troublesome pair disappear through her office floo, leaving her alone in her office with only the crackle of burning wood for company. However, she had no time to waste just sitting there, the headmaster needed to be informed about these latest events right away as she hurriedly left her office, holding the damn letter in hand.

'What the hell am I? A glorified secretary?!' she mentally grumbled, whilst slamming her office door behind her.

Striding through the near empty halls as she expertly navigated the magical staircases, she quickly arrived at the pair of stone gargoyles guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office and private chambers. "Milky Bars," she voiced, giving the two stern faced guardians the necessary password as they silently moved aside, granting her access and revealing a spiral stone staircase leading up to headmaster's office.

Pulling up the hem of her skirt, she hiked her way up the stairs just to be greeted by the same old unassuming wooden door, before she could even knock however the headmaster's voice filled the air. "Minerva, come in," the aged wizard granted, as the magical door opened by itself.

"Albus we have a problem, a very big problem," she announced right away, not giving the aged wizard a chance to offer her one of his damn lemon drops.

"Oh, what is the matter Minerva? Shouldn't you be accompanying Mr. Potter and Lord Black to the Ministry for registration?" the old headmaster enquired with a curious expression.

"That's why I'm here _Albus_, Lord Black is pressing formal charges against the school for invasion of privacy and breach of protocol," she stated angrily, throwing the letter on the desk, as the headmaster's grandfatherly persona finally slipped away.

"I would have preferred a prank," the aged wizard expressed with a tired sigh of disappointment, as he looked over the letter.

"Pardon me? What do you mean prank? This is not some type of game for your amusement, Albus," the head of Gryffindor house lectured.

"Nothing Minerva, just a rogue thought," Albus said with wave of his bony hand dismissing the issue.

"So what are we going to do?" she demanded, knowing that it would be the headmaster that ultimately decided the school's stance on the issue.

"I would not worry too much about it Minerva," he offered with a reassuring smile and sparkle in his eyes. "This is nothing but a political move to apply pressure to the school, which can easily be dismissed on account of the Chamber of Secrets being opened and the attempts on Mr. Potter's life and additional security methods were added to monitor the students' safety. Ultimately, we will just make a deal with them behind closed doors and make it go away. There is nothing to worry about, trust me."

**Ministry Of Magic**

Sirius calmly lead him though the impressive maze that was the British Ministry of Magic, the pair of them attracting many curious looks from passing wizards and witches alike going about their daily affairs, dressed in an assortment of different styles and many coloured robes. However, instead of being led to the Ministry Registration and Records Offices, the department in charge of registering and recording known animagi, he was being led straight to the Magical Law Enforcement section of the Ministry.

They passed through a series of security checkpoints, where his wand was carefully examined and matched to ministry records to confirm his identity by Ministry security wizards. The two wizards in charge of the checkpoints were dressed in matching black robes, with a simple black leather vest beneath it offering a small modicum of spell protection, but nowhere near dragon hide. On their black robes was a shining bronze capital M, with wand going through the centre, the tip glowing, with the words Ministry of Magic beneath it.

Sirius, noticing his interest in the pair of wizards, offered further insight into their role, "Ministry Security Wizards are a branch of the law enforcement department. Their job is to provide internal security to the Ministry and other important locations, like St. Mungos. They also deal with petty crimes in some cases, whilst the Aurors deal with the more dangerous assignments. You could say the MSW are mainly passive in their duties, whilst the Aurors are more proactive in theirs with much wider powers and purview of responsibilities."

The checkpoint wizard gave Sirius a sour look at his brief explanation. "Of course MSW are much more likely to retire with all their limbs intact," Sirius added with a smile as Harry casually watched the paper airplanes fly above their heads, carrying messages between the different departments.

He considered the explanation for a second, "That's interesting," Harry noted, as they were waved through the security checkpoint, whilst realizing that it was a bit like the makeup of a Quidditch team. The Aurors were like the 'seekers,' the most high-profile team members, the most visible, the most published. Whilst the other officers made up the rest of the squad, fulfilling the other critical support roles. Thinking more about it, as Sirius effortlessly guided them through the halls, he realized that more and more of the magical world's structure was separated by rank, status and prestige as they passed several Aurors in their trademark blood red, robe uniforms.

Like their MSW counterparts, the capital M with lit wand was on their left chest, but it had the additional symbol of a set of scales, and rather than bronze, it was silver. This acted as another indicator of their supremacy over the MSW ranks, visually marking the divide between the two ministry branches.

"Good morning, Claire," Sirius offered in greeting to the pretty, young receptionist as they entered Madam Bones' reception room, the receptionist looking up from her work with a broadening smile.

"Lord Black, what a pleasure to see you again," Claire offered back with a flirtatious smile, "And who is this handsome young man with you?"

Clapping Harry on the back, "This is my godson and heir, Harry Potter," Sirius announced proudly with his own smile, pulling him gently forward so that he could shake the young brunette's hand.

He offered his own charming smile in return, not to be outdone by his godfather, "Good morning Claire, it's a pleasure to meet you," Harry offered back in his own greeting, hoping it was acceptable to use her first name.

"We have an appointment with Madam Bones for 10 o'clock," Sirius continued, after all the necessary pleasantries were exchanged between the trio.

"Of course," she nodded. "Give me a moment to announce you," Claire offered back as she got up from her desk. He discreetly watched her most pleasing behind dance across the floor, also finding his eyes drawn to her firm, sculpted legs, before he looked away, choosing to instead focus on his godfather rather than get caught peeking.

"Sirius, why are we here?" He asked carefully, casually leaning on the marble topped reception desk as they waited.

"Solving _your_ animagus problem," Sirius voiced with a smirk as Claire made her way back to them.

"She'll see you in just a moment," the receptionist announced.

"Thank you," the two of them said in unison, as Claire gave them another friendly smile.

**Midnight Lord**

**Slytherin Common Room**

"Potter is just an overgrown cat if you ask me. I could become an animagus if I wanted to, but why would I want to become a simple beast?" Draco expressed with disdain to his two friends, Crabbe and Goyle sitting by his side, and frankly anyone else who was even remotely interested in listening to his opinion, as the two goons chuckled like the mindless minions they were.

"What idiots," Tracy voiced, from her seat on the black leather couch, in the dimly lit gothic style common room.

Smiling faintly in agreement at the assessment, "Indeed," Daphne agreed with her childhood best friend.

"You found anything yet Daphne?" Tracy asked eagerly from her seat, looking over to her best friend.

"Bits and pieces," she voiced evenly, teasing her friend with the information she had found as she causally flipped a page of her animal symbolism book. "The tiger mainly symbolizes the ideal of balance in nature, according to the eastern cultures. It's both negative and positive. It's safe to assume that in magical terms it's neither light nor dark in magical alignment, but rather a neutral force, so grey if anything, rather than black or white," she theorized.

"That certainly fits Harry's personality," Blaise added thoughtfully from her side as he rubbed his chin. "He's often playing the role of balancer in our group, and his opinion is often one of cool logic while advocating moderation."

"Yeah, it does," Tracy seconded from her chair, as she slipped her legs up onto the seat.

"What about you Tracy, found anything of note?" Daphne asked from her place, flicking her blonde hair back over her shoulder.

"Personal strength and willpower, but the tiger is also linked to the elements of shadow and fire. The shadow implies the need to hide or seal away a part of yourself from prying eyes, so it implies privacy. Whilst fire, at the same time, implies passion, aggression, or dark anger when provoked," Tracy offered, before blushing slightly at her next statement. "Then there is the powerful sexual hunger of the tiger and the need to dominate," the Slytherin trio fought the need to blush at this, as mature as they were, they were still quite young.

Several long seconds passed as the trio composed themselves before she spoke up again, "That certainly fits I think, he is one of the more powerful students in our year, arguably the most powerful," Daphne agreed with a minor nod. "But I've never seen Harry get extremely mad, or angry before, but he is an extremely private individual, so that fits the shadow part alright. And it is well known he lurks, plans and manipulates with the best of us, like any true Slytherin does, even if he doesn't wear green and silver..."

"That's true," her betrothed agreed, as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If I were Harry, I would try to hide this information," the lone male Slytherin added.

"Yeah, we've all seen him annoyed and irritated, but we've never seen anything that might suggest dark anger," Tracy offered, studiously ignoring the sexual part and no one else caring to bring it up.

"But do you remember girls, what happened in our first year? On Halloween he killed a bloody mountain troll for Merlin's sake, and as far as I can recall, he didn't seem all that upset about it either," Blaise voiced calmly, as they looked at each other.

"That fits the predator stuff I'm reading about, of the tiger being both a powerful hunter and protector," Tracy voiced.

"It also says that tigers represent great physical strength and prowess," Blaise added. "It's well known that Harry works out daily, intensively. He probably works out more than any other student in the school."

"He certainly isn't fat, unlike some boys we know around here," Tracy voiced with a mischievous smirk, whilst gesturing behind her.

"We should ask Padma," Blaise suddenly announced to the pair.

Looking over her left shoulder, "Any reason why?" Daphne asked, wondering what her betrothed had in mind.

"The tiger has different meanings and symbolism in the Indian culture than it does in the Chinese sources. So far we have only looked at Chinese sources, and Padma is from India. Who better to ask?" the Italian boy reasoned.

**End of Chapter**


	38. Y2 Confrontation Pt 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Notes: **I put time stamps in this chapter to help make it easier to follow. This chapter directly follows the previous one.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 38 Confrontation Pt 2**

**12th September Posted 2013**

**Revised and****Beta'd by the Magnificent Joe Lawyer**

**Madam Bones' Office - Tuesday Morning **

"Lord Black, Mr. Potter, I was hoping to see you," Madam Bones announced with a hint of amusement in her voice and eyes. "But that can wait until later. What can I do for you two this morning? Does this meeting happen to have something to do with the fact that Mr. Potter is an animagus, by any chance?"

Letting a smile appear on his lips, he answered, "Let me guess, Susan told you?" Harry answered back from his padded chair, as he discreetly examined the rather spartan office, trying to get a read on the witch in front of him. He did notice a new looking, small picture frame carefully positioned on one side of the desk that caught his attention.

"Yes," the Head of Law Enforcement confirmed with a fond smile, before it slipped from her features. "I also heard from half a dozen other parents who heard similar rumours from their own children, all demanding that I immediately investigate the matter and arrest you if they were true. They've obviously forgotten that a witch or wizard has a week to register from the time of their first successful full transformation before it becomes an illegal act. After all, not everyone can instantly come to the Ministry to register their form."

He smiled back at this unpleasant, but not unexpected news, rather curious just who was calling for his arrest over such a trivial thing. "It's kind of funny how fast such news can spread," Harry observed with a sense of detached amusement, even as he noted the fact that Susan was Madam Bones' trusted eyes and ears within the school. 'I'll have to be more careful around Susan.'

"Indeed," Sirius seconded from his own chair, reminding them both of his presence in the room. "And yes, that's why we're here. I was hoping you would be agreeable to putting Harry's animagus status and details under a security level clearance, to prevent it from being used against him. But if this knowledge has spread so far already, there hardly seems a point to it now, since rumours would still remain at large."

"So now that our business seems moot, what is it you wished to speak to us about?" Sirius asked.

He watched as the experienced law enforcement officer composed herself by taking a deep calming breath before answering Sirius' question. "As you two already know from our earlier meetings, Mr. Pettigrew has confirmed that Lord Malfoy was behind both the attempts on Harry's life and the opening of the Chamber of Secrets within Hogwarts. Unfortunately, even with Mr. Pettigrew's willing assistance in our investigations, we have failed to find the hard evidence necessary to effectively prosecute him. The evidence we do have at the moment is weak at best and isn't enough to get a warrant issued for his arrest, much less questioning him under truth serum, not with his political connections within this government at least. And if brought to the courts it could simply be dismissed as slander and hearsay. If he's cleared of these charges it would make him immune to future prosecution. In short, Lucius has proven to be extremely skilled at covering his tracks," she lectured as Sirius gave an annoyed sigh.

"Regrettably, the one piece of hard evidence we could have used to potentially link all this back to Lord Malfoy had to be destroyed," she voiced, the tiger within him began to stir at this, his anger starting to boil over at this depressing news.

Despite his rising anger and the primal desire to lash out at something, anything, he reined his inner tiger in, pacifying it by plotting different ways to retaliate against the murderous Lord. This helped to quell the primal impulse to tear the man's throat out with his very jaws. However, his plans for death and dismemberment were interrupted as the head of magical law enforcement spoke up again.

"What was this evidence?" his godfather asked from beside him.

"A cursed diary, enchanted to bewitch its user into opening the Chamber of Secrets. Mr. Pettigrew admits to placing the dangerous artefact within the belongings of the Weasley's youngest daughter on Lord Malfoy's orders. Regrettably, during Miss Weasley's treatment the diary had to be destroyed to release her from the hold of its powerful dark magics," Madam Bones offered with a sad smile. "And Miss Weasley herself is in no state to provide any evidence."

"So the headmaster is involved then," Harry stated, trying to control his increasing anger at these unfortunate events.

"Yes, I approached him after Mr. Pettigrew explained his role in the Chamber of Secrets and the diary, hoping to acquire any evidence linking Malfoy to the case and to retrieve the cursed diary." Madam Bones explained, whilst giving Harry a curious look. "You don't seem surprised that Miss Weasley was involved."

"Who do you think helped the headmaster to catch her in the first place?" Harry stated with a small smile. Madam Bones blinked rapidly at this unexpected answer.

"_You_ did? The headmaster didn't mention your involvement at all," Madam Bones stated. Sirius just gave him a look that clearly said, 'why am I _not_ surprised.'

"Well, that's rather interesting, since there is meant to be a public reward ceremony for our efforts at the end of the year," Harry muttered, as he wondered what the headmaster's game was this time.

"_Our_ efforts?" Madam Bones asked.

Letting a smile appear on his lips, he answered with a hint of smugness in his voice, "Me and a small group of talented associates investigated the matter ourselves when we saw how ineffectual the headmaster and his staff were at resolving the issue. We used a mixture of non-magical and magical investigative techniques to locate the probable entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. This ultimately led to my elder cousin Tonks and I confirming this idea for ourselves. She, by the way, has a desire to become an auror upon her graduation. However, our efforts were discovered by the headmaster, who unsurprisingly questioned us on the matter. We dutifully passed on the information, as well a list of our primary suspects, which notably included Miss Weasley as our prime suspect. A couple days later Miss Weasley went homesick on extended leave, thus confirming our suspicions of her guilt."

"So you know what the beast is within the Chamber of Secrets?" the seasoned law enforcement asked, with a hint of eagerness at finally getting this information.

"Of course, Madam Bones," he replied with a cocky grin that clearly said 'I know something that you don't know.'

"Care to share with the rest of us?" Sirius asked, beating Madam Bones to the question.

"A basilisk," he answered with an indifferent shrug, like they were discussing the weather, rather than a supremely deadly snake in a school full of children.

"_A basilisk_?! You have got to be kidding me!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I, too, find it hard to believe. A basilisk kills outright with their stares after all," Madam Bones seconded.

"Not if you see its eyes through a secondary medium Madame, say a magical eye that can see through walls?" Harry replied evenly with a sly smile. "Just like the other victims saw it through an additional medium. The only one that didn't was Myrtle, and she remembers seeing a big pair of yellow eyes before she immediately died and began her existence as a ghost," Sirius continued to look at him in sheer disbelief, before realization dawned in his eyes. He could already see his godfather beginning to connect the dots in his mind and ultimately what Harry was planning. "But I believe we're getting sidetracked. Why can't we simply use Peter's testimony? Surely his word is enough to warrant the mere questioning of Lord Malfoy?" He was desperately trying to move the discussion along before his godfather blurted out that he was a parselmouth in front of the law enforcement officer. That was information that didn't need to be spread about.

"Regrettably, Mr. Pettigrew himself can be easily discredited by even a moderately skilled lawyer, undermining his testimony and value as a witness in open court. Without additional hard evidence and witnesses of a more prominent nature, nothing he says alone will stick. More evidence and better witnesses are exactly what will be required now to ensure Lord Malfoy is prosecuted and convicted, it's also the reason why he hasn't even been arrested yet," she lectured, answering Harry's question as Sirius gave an exasperated sigh.

"But Mr. Pettigrew has confirmed that there were plans in place to kill Harry this upcoming Valentine's Day with poisoned chocolate frogs. Plans which Lord Malfoy was aware of and helped devise," the head of law enforcement explained to the two of them. "What I want to do is fake Harry's death within the school. Once your death is 'confirmed,' Mr. Pettigrew will meet with Lord Malfoy for his 'payment.' I'll have a dozen or so Aurors of unimpeachable character there at the ready to arrest him after witnessing the exchange, along with a Daily Prophet reporter or two as witnesses. In short, it'll be a trap; with Malfoy caught in the act there is no way that he will be able to escape justice."

"How utterly devious of you," Harry noted thoughtfully to himself, as his mind started to process the different possible scenarios and how best he could profit from this unique opportunity...

"I'm not the head of magical law enforcement for nothing," she defended, taking Harry's reply the wrong way.

"So what do you want us to agree to then? I'm certainly not going to agree to Harry being poisoned," Sirius expressed defensively.

"I have to admit, I'm not at all fond of that idea either," Harry said calmly.

"Of course not," Madam Bones defended. "What I propose is a body swap. An Auror will swap places with you at school, and will fake your death publicly in the great hall, whilst you will be safely hidden away somewhere else. As far as the rest of the world will be concerned you'll be dead... murdered while at school..."

"Won't you need the headmaster's assistance for this plot to take place and actually succeed?" Sirius probed, pointing out a possible flaw in the plan.

"He has already agreed to the idea," she voiced with a smug smirk.

"What about the bat?" Sirius asked.

"The bat? Oh, you mean Professor Snape," Madam Bones replied with a grin. "The headmaster and I have come up with plans to deal with Professor Snape."

"What type of plans? How is the headmaster going to ensure that Severus doesn't go running to Lucius with the truth?" Sirius asked.

Madam Bones' grin grew wider at the question, "By appealing to the man's self interest... Mr. Pettigrew told me quite a bit about Severus' time in the death eaters, enough to ensure a long prison sentence if he fails to cooperate. I also have a batch of polyjuice already brewed and an Auror willing to impersonate Professor Snape for a couple of weeks so that no questions are asked. If he refuses to accept the situation, I very much plan on questioning Snape at length and possibly finding more evidence of his guilt and any others that he's aware of."

"Sounds like a solid plan," Harry admitted after thinking over the many details.

"So, will you agree to the plan?" Madam Bones asked.

"As long as I'm in no real danger, I see no reason why I shouldn't agree. Lucius is a very _real_ threat to me after all; if this plan brings him down, then I'll play my part, even if it does mess up my plans for Valentine's Day," he explained evenly, choosing to ignore Sirius' broad grin. Sometimes he really wondered between the two of them who the real child was.

"I agree as well. You have my permission as Harry's magical guardian to continue," Sirius voiced. "But I want to be kept fully informed about the situation."

"Of course, that's perfectly reasonable," she replied. She released a sigh of relief at their agreement with her plan, before looking back at the pair intently. "There is another important matter I wish to discuss with the pair of you."

"What would that be?" Sirius asked on their behalf.

"Ancient law states that in cases involving crimes of this magnitude, specifically the assassination or attempted assassination of the Lord and/or heir of an Ancient and Noble House, that the lands, titles and belongings of the aggressor and his co-conspirators can be seized in compensation for the crimes committed. If we are successful in bringing Lord Malfoy to justice, due to Harry's status as the dual heir of two Ancient and Noble Houses, up to 40% of the aggressor's wealth can be seized and given to him in compensation. The remaining 60% would then be auctioned off by the Ministry of Magic. The culpable party's family seats in the Wizengamot can also be taken by the victim," Madam Bones explained, sparking Harry's renewed interest. Sirius gave Harry a look as well.

"So what you are saying is that the Potter and Black families could become even wealthier," Sirius stated.

"Yes, but I did not tell you this to fill your heads with dreams of Malfoy gold. Your lawyers would have told you this eventually anyway. I told you this so that we could come to an agreement, before any of this became a reality," Madam Bones voiced formally.

"What type of deal?" Harry asked, butting in on his godfather.

"The Malfoy Dragon Reserve is the Ministry's sole supplier of dragon products, including dragon hide body armour, which is what my department is most concerned with. I would like you to consider taking the Malfoy Dragon Reserve as part of your compensation, on the understanding that you would give favourable rates to the Aurors after the change in ownership, rather than ridiculously overcharging the Ministry, like is being done right now. At the current price levels I simply can't afford to properly equip my people with the protective gear they need to survive an encounter with a dark wizard. And ultimately I want a reliable source of dragon hide, without having another family with possible dark leanings getting a hold of it who would use it as leverage with my department," Madam Bones explained.

"I don't understand. Why not just change suppliers?" Harry asked, since it was the easiest and simplest solution to the issue.

"Magically binding contract. If broken the Ministry of Magic has to pay Lord Malfoy compensation for the loss of business for the remainder of the contract, which would bankrupt the Ministry and likely result in my own dismissal; leaving the department open to some less capable and more flexible minded person to replace me, if you get my drift," she explained.

"Please don't take this wrong way, but why did you sign it then?" Harry asked.

"I didn't. One of Malfoy's bought and paid for stooges brokered the deal on the previous Minister's behalf," she explained with a hint of bitterness.

"I see no reason why we can't assist you in this. You are an ally after all," Sirius agreed with a carefree smile.

"I'm fine with it as well, including providing dragon hide armour to the department at more reasonable prices," Harry agreed easily, since it would keep him on good terms with the head of magical law enforcement and offer him greater influence within the Ministry as a whole for a long time to come. Those two things were incredibly valuable given his long-term goals. "Out of curiosity, what would the scale of compensation be if I was Lord Potter at the time this next assassination attempt took place? Sirius looked at him again in astonishment, "Rather than merely heir Potter?"

The look Sirius sent wasn't missed by Madam Bones, but she answered his question nonetheless. "Closer to 50% in that case, 20% for being the Heir of Black and 30% for being the Lord Potter, but you would have to be Lord Potter at the time of the attacks, not afterwards. If, however, you did become Lord Potter today, then by Thursday such an attack on your person could be seen as valid," she offered. "But you should ask Andy and Ted about the finer details; they are your lawyers after all."

"I think I'll do that Madame," Harry muttered, whilst pondering what the scale of compensation would be if he finally took up the title of Lord Potter and publically disclosed being the Lord Peverell on top of his other titles. In any case, if this worked out a lot of gold was coming his way. You could say a lot about the Malfoys but you couldn't deny the fact that they were obscenely rich and had a number of prime business assets to their name in Britain and abroad.

"Let's return to the matter at hand," Madam Bones offered. "You were here to register as an animagus, were you not?" This prompted the pair to nod back in confirmation. "So shouldn't you be registering with the Ministry's _records_ office?"

"Of course. It slipped our minds with all the heavy discussion," Sirius offered back, as Sirius got out of his seat.

"So what type of tiger are you then, Mr. Potter? For identification purposes you are required to state what sub-species you believe you are on the paperwork, rather just something vague like 'a tiger,'" she enquired.

"I believe I am a Siberian tiger, that's what my gut is telling me anyways, but I haven't confirmed it yet," he voiced as his inner beast stirred in silent confirmation of the information.

**Midnight Lord**

**Gringotts Bank – Tuesday Lunch Time**

He watched with interest as his goblin account manager processed the information he had just been given and worked out the implications of the complex plan to fake his death in the coming days. The many details of the scheme were obviously being closely examined in the goblin's wicked mind. "I understand Lord Potter and, I'll play my part. As far as the Ministry and wizarding Britain will be concerned, you will be dead," Bloodmoon agreed with a scheming smile.

Sipping some of his coffee, "Good," Harry agreed with his own wicked smile matching the goblin's own. "Can you also watch out for anyone who tries to take advantage of my death? I would like to know which vultures try to pick my corpse clean..." the goblin's grin grew even wider.

"So you have more victims to bleed?" Bloodmoon asked in delight, as he drunk some of his own blood wine, again finding it a rare joy to work with this particularly goblin-like wizard. He was already the envy of all the other account managers, when this scheme was over and came to light within the bank he'd be even more envied at just how mercenary his client was.

"I just want to know who I should turn my... _attentions_... to next," Harry expressed with a wicked grin of his own. "I might as well use my 'fake death,' to my advantage, and help reveal possible enemies, those individuals that I need to watch out for in the future."

"Naturally," the goblin readily agreed. "It is always good to know who would slip a dagger in your back given the right opportunity, _especially_ for someone in your position."

Neither of them needed to mention what Harry's position was. He was the last of the Potters, a rich orphan in a sea full of sharks that were constantly circling around him, looking for _any_ sign of weakness, for any blood in the water to take advantage of. "Then we're of the same mind," Harry voiced with an amused smile, wondering if he wasn't a goblin in his past life.

"Would you like me to set aside some liquid assets to buy any of the Malfoy family's particularly choice assets which may come on the market following his trial? Or his co-conspirators holdings for that matter?" the goblin asked.

That was a very good question and he considered the question for a good couple of minutes as they sipped their drinks, "In general I'd say no, I'd rather focus my funds on developing the docks to their full potential," he voiced thoughtfully, knowing that the redevelopment was going to cost him around 8-11 million at initial estimates. The goblin gave him a curious look. He decided to elaborate as it was in his best interests for his account manager to understand his thinking on this point. "I'd rather not expand too fast and have issues with cash flow. It's the number one cause of new business failure after all. From my limited understanding of history, business empires, like kingdoms, that expand too fast, will often have weak foundations. I want my financial empire to have strong, deep roots that will last for many centuries to come," Bloodmoon nodded in understanding, clearly following his logic now. "I will also have the gold and assets I will absorb from the Malfoy family in compensation to work with, if something becomes available that I simply can't pass up. The Malfoy businesses will need to be integrated into my holdings as well, so I don't anticipate being all that interested in what goes up for auction."

"A wise choice," Bloodmoon commented.

"Thank you," Harry replied. "Plus it will help distract the circling vultures, as they fight over the Malfoy family's corpse and the other corpses that will inevitably follow in the man's wake... However, I believe my godfather, at my suggestion, will take the opportunity to help pick the bones clean, or even subtly encourage the inevitable bidding war to reach unhealthy prices and thus put some of our enemies in some untenable places in the future when they win at too high of a price." He chuckled evilly at his plan, at how his enemies' greed and their desire to one up their competitors would lead them to make some bad decisions that he could capitalize on later, at a significant discount of course. "I believe that the Black family vaults have the gold to spare for such a scheme," Bloodmoon nodded in agreement. Given the Potter/Black family's ongoing business partnership he had to be well aware of the state of the Black vaults and assets.

"On a side-note, would you be agreeable to providing me lessons this summer on magical finance and banking? For a fee, of course... I understand the basics and the underlying theory from the books you provided me with when we first met, but I lack the deeper knowledge. And I believe as a responsible Lord of my family, I should learn such things. As my account manager, my family's success is indirectly your success after all." Harry said.

"Why not ask your godfather?" Bloodmoon asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, Sirius could teach me some things, but he is not a goblin," Harry answered as Bloodmoon gave him another questioning look. He decided to explain further to put the goblin banker at ease, "We both know it's the goblin nation that controls the flow of gold in Britain, not wizards and witches, as much as they'd like to pretend. No matter how much we'd like to believe we do," an amused smile appeared on his lips at this.

"I'll consider it," the goblin replied evenly, giving no hint whether he would agree or not.

"Thank you."

**Number 12**

Adding another battered old magical tome to his growing pile of chosen texts, he went back to the bookshelves looking for additional tomes and texts to read. He had spent the last hour and half since returning from the bank searching the old wooden shelves for security wards and charms, specifically anything he could use to help better secure his dorm room from surveillance. However, one of the minor problems he was encountering was that the Black family clearly preferred security wards and charms that were often deadly, or dark in nature, hence unsuitable for use at Hogwarts.

He was a cold hearted bastard, but he wasn't _that_ cold or heartless; he had no desire for someone to die just because they had attempted to open his dorm room door without his permission. However, while unsuitable for use at school, they were good pieces of magic to know and had a time and place to be used; he would study them when he had time. They might even save his life one day. Of course he would be hitting Hogwarts' own library in the foreseeable future, including its restricted section, for some actually usable texts on security and privacy wards for his room. After all, he was pretty sure that there would be no overly dark magic material there.

"Harry, we should really be getting you back to school now," Sirius voiced, with a hint of disapproval, as Harry continued to work his way through the Black family library looking for useful tomes. "You're going to miss your afternoon lessons and fall behind."

He resisted the urge to snort at that ridiculous statement; he would never fall behind based on missing one lesson. "Just give me ten more minutes please. I already know the material anyways. I'd have to miss a full year or more of lessons to actually fall behind Sirius," Harry expressed, as he opened the pages of yet another book, before immediately discarding it to one side since it was unusable.

"You asked me to wait ten more minutes a half hour ago," Sirius voiced in protest.

"Really? I didn't notice," Harry idly observed as he quickly read through the contents' page of the newest book. "You know, you should really catalogue this library better. Half the books here are in totally the wrong sections! I would be done by now if this place was properly sorted," he griped, as he put the small book dedicated to sex magic back on the shelves in its proper place, whilst wondering how in the hell that got sorted next to books on wards, before finding a gruesome book on blood magic next to it. 'Perhaps there are potential uses for sex and/or blood magic in warding that I had no idea about? Weird...but fascinating.' A mental note was quickly made to explore this idea in the future.

"Why don't you do that this summer then?! Rather than moaning about it," Sirius countered quickly, as he put a book back on the shelf, before moving behind another bookcase. "And don't try to change the subject! We need to get you back to school."

"Just saying, no need to get snappy with me young man," Harry voiced whilst hiding his smirk behind a book, as he pulled his godfather's strings like a master. "I also have to find a book on the compensation laws Madam Bones mentioned during our meeting. I'm strongly considering revealing my full status and titles to the world, but only if the compensation is worth it."

**Hogwarts**

No sooner than he had stepped through the common room door, he found himself immediately intercepted by Terry, one of the few people he called a friend. "Harry! Roger has been looking all over for you. Where have you been?"

Mentally sighing at having to explain himself again, "At the Ministry of Magic, registering my animagus form, remember?" he replied plainly, as he turned to face the smaller boy. "Did he say what he wanted?"

"No, he just wanted to know whether I saw you or not," Terry replied, catching up to him so he was keeping in step with Harry.

"Probably Quidditch related then," Harry noted dryly, as he climbed the stairs to his dorm room.

**Headmaster's Office - Tuesday Evening**

The door to his office opened as Hogwarts' resident potions master silently glided into the room, his gloomy black robes billowing behind. His face twisted into an expression of annoyance as he sat down. "What is it you wished to speak to me about headmaster? Is this about my conduct in potions again? Or is this something to do with that idiot's Valentine's Day idea," Severus spat with annoyance, as he swallowed a cherry drop.

He chose to ignore Severus' unprofessional remarks about Professor Lockhart's ability to teach, no matter how true. It was time to address the issue of why Severus was here. "Something far more sobering, I'm afraid. It is time for you to act on the vow you made to me all those years ago to protect Lily's son," he took another slow sip of his homemade herbal tea, allowing Severus to stew on his words for a couple of long seconds. "What I'm about to say doesn't leave this room Severus, because if it does, you will be arrested on charges of interfering with an ongoing Auror operation," he stated firmly.

"What's going on, Albus?" Severus asked firmly, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Do you understand what I've just said?" Albus pushed, knowing that Madam Bones would have his ass if he screwed up her operation by misplacing his trust in Severus.

"Of course, I understand! I'm not an idiot," Severus spat back in annoyance.

"I'm sorry about this Severus, but it is necessary," he expressed whilst a tired sigh escaped him, even as his elderly features shifted into one of regret and remorse as he addressed the younger man. "It turns out that about a month ago Peter Pettigrew turned himself into the Aurors and made a deal with Madam Bones. Since then he has been spilling his secrets on everyone, including you, in exchange for a lesser punishment for his crimes." Realization started to dawn on Severus at this, as well as a cold, gripping fear. "So far he has named over 50 of your former comrades. Most of the people he named were never formally charged for treason at the end of the last war. His testimony and shared memories will allow the aurors to bring them in for questioning under veritaserum. Once they're interrogated and inevitably incriminate themselves, they'll be charged and arrested under the law for the crimes they committed over a decade ago. If I remember correctly, treason still carries the death penalty via the kiss or the veil," his words causing Severus to suddenly sit deathly still, clearly thinking about his own dark secrets that he still harboured, some of which might be known by Pettigrew.

Silently watching the younger man he called a friend, he didn't need to be a genius or a master legillimens to figure out what was going through Severus' mind. At the moment Severus was naturally trying to work out just what Peter knew, or had heard during his time as a death eater. He allowed the potions master to stew on his own fears a little longer. It wasn't due to him being spiteful, or sadistic, or taking a sick pleasure in Severus' worst fears coming true; he just knew from a lifetime of experience and political dealings that one's fears were oftentimes more terrible than the true consequences of them becoming reality. Remembering the words of his wise, but long dead father, 'There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Do not allow fear to cloud your judgement, to hold you back, otherwise fear wins the day. Most of the time fear itself is worse than the results.' He knew that first hand, he had been fearful of facing Gellert in battle and due to his inaction hundreds had died as a result. But the battle itself had been surprisingly easy.

Fears grew and festered over time; they became rooted in one's mind like stubborn weeds in a garden, their roots growing ever deeper into the soil and thus that much harder to remove. He allowed the man's fears to fester so that when he finally provided a solution to Severus' growing concerns the man would be far more eager to accept his offer of aid. 'It was for the greater good,' he told himself.

Yes, it was manipulative, but it had to be done, he told himself once again, as he calmly took another sip of his cooling tea.

Neville was the Boy-Who-Lived and therefore the one destined to beat Tom, if prophecy was to be believed. However, after seeing Harry's own academic prowess, the fact that the boy had accomplished the animagus transformation so young, as well as having the unique ability to speak parseltongue, he was strongly considering introducing the young Ravenclaw into his wider plans. After all, James and Lily's son had warned Filius last year of the dangers of Professor Quirrell, the lad had successful discovered the Chamber of Secrets before anyone else, even himself and Neville, and he had also been a candidate for the prophecy. So, logically, magic was clearly pulling him into the events, involving him for some reason known only to magic itself. Nevertheless, Harry could always act as a spare, a backup saviour in case Neville failed in his task, or was killed. And that meant Harry had to be protected as well.

That was another thing he had learnt over the course of his long life, redundancy was key. Always have backup plans for one's backup plans, then even more back up plans for good measure, even if they were of the extremely vague variety.

He allowed a couple more minutes to pass before he continued his pre-planned speech, "Madam Bones and a team of trusted, hand selected aurors have been investigating Peter's claims, finding buried and forgotten evidence such as missing bodies of victims and evidence of bribes paid during and after the war. They've even made deals with a number of lesser offenders in exchange for giving their evidence and testimony," the potions master shuffled uneasily again in his seat.

"Peter has also admitted to his own involvement in opening the Chamber of Secrets and has revealed to the aurors just who gave him the cursed diary in the first place, along with exactly who hired him to kill young Harry."

Allowing his words to hang in air for the moment, he continued, "I think _you_ can easily guess who hired Peter?" the office fell into an uneasy silence once again.

He watched as the troubled young man in front of him sunk further into his chair, "Lucius," Severus voiced quietly, almost fearful of the truth.

"Correct," Albus replied soberly, while mightily resisting the urge to reward Severus house points for giving the right answer.

"Madame Bones has enough evidence to ensure that Lucius can be brought to trial for multiple murders and for his part in opening the Chamber of Secrets. I also believe that both Sirius and Harry now know that Lucius was the individual who hired Peter and opened the Chamber," this new bit of information caused Severus to look up, his eyes sharpening at seeing the potential danger. "I personally believe they are plotting some form of retaliation of their own, or discreetly gathering allies so that when Lucius is finally arrested and brought to trial he does not escape justice this time round. As you well know Severus, in the days following the end of the war people just wanted to move on and forget about the many horrors they had endured for so long. The Ministry effectively brushed everything aside in the end game, desperately wanting to distance themselves from their own failings. After all, the Ministry was effectively broken, on its last legs, almost certainly defeated at the end, its war chest was empty, its will to fight all but broken. I do not exaggerate in the slightest when I say the Ministry was days away from falling." He lectured, sadness and regret flowing into his voice. "No one wanted to truly deal with the aftermath of the war, they just wanted to forget and move on, so people were willing to buy into the imperius excuse and overlook the ridiculous amounts of gold trading hands, because no one wanted the war to continue any longer. But as you know all too well Severus, true justice was never dealt, even to many of those who were in Voldemort's inner circle and responsible for much of the horror. People who should have been behind bars, or worse, walked free, returning to their positions of wealth and influence in magical Britain. That has been a festering wound in the side of Britain. That demand for justice has been slowly brewing ever since; people _want_ to know who killed their loved ones, they want to know their fates, they want to know what happened to them. They want answers Severus. Those same people then see individuals like Lucius and it just reminds them of all the wrongs and the many injustices that occurred after the war; it fuels this hidden, but brewing anger and rage in their hearts."

"The public rarely gets what it wants," Severus countered with a dismissive wave of his hand. "The rich, _they_ get what they want; the masses get what the rich _allows_ them to have. That's the natural order of things. The way it's always been and always will be."

"How true, but I think you actually mean the powerful get what they want," he corrected, going off his pre-planned scripted for a moment. "Tom wasn't rich, was he?" reminding Severus of the dark lord's humble roots.

"No, he wasn't," Severus offered in return, conceding the point with a slight bow of his head.

"I'm not rich either, am I? Yes, I have great personal wealth compared to others thanks to my early discoveries in life, but compared to many of the old pureblood families, my fortune is remarkably small and quite modest really," Albus expressed with a small smile. "But I'm the most powerful wizard in Britain and one of the most well respected in all of Europe."

"What about the Order's vaults then? Don't you count them as your own?" Severus challenged.

"Those are for the _cause _Severus; I don't touch them for personal matters," he defended, giving Severus a pointed look.

That was one of the few subjects they had never discussed over the long years, and he had no intention of changing that unless it was absolutely necessary. That was another lesson he had learnt from the last war, the need to have gold on hand, since one could not always rely on donations from one's followers to fund a war effort. Especially from the older pureblood families who perhaps rightly saw money as influence and expected favours and influence in return for their personal donations to the cause. Realising he was getting sidetracked, he refocused on the subject of the meeting.

Rearranging his features to give Severus a sterner look, he continued, "I plan on giving them the answers they want Severus," he voiced, declaring his position on the subject before sipping some more of his tea. He resisted the impulse to scowl as the cold herbal tea caused his tongue to rebel at the horrible taste; he discreetly cast another warming spell on the tea with a simple flick of his wand, reheating his cooling tea to a more enjoyable temperature. "With Peter being in the newspaper and Sirius being released from jail after falsely being imprisoned for over a decade, it has awoken the public's desire for justice, reminded people of old wounds and the many miscarriages of justice that occurred over a decade ago," he explained to the younger man, who had no real interest in politics. "To make matters more difficult, an Auror was attacked in this school. Not just any old auror mind you, but _the_ _Alastor Moody_ due to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, ensuring that Madam Bones' attention is fully set on bringing the culprits to justice. And that has also been all over the paper. People want this school to be safe; they want their children to be safe; they want action and they want to know who is to blame."

"Then there was that unfortunate quidditch incident with young Neville that has ruffled some very old feathers, to the point that Lady Longbottom is up in arms about the matter. What do you think will happen when it comes out that it was a Malfoy family house elf that was responsible for the attacks on her grandson?" he asked. "Do you think anyone would believe that the house elf was acting alone? Independently? Or will they believe it was only carrying out its master's will?"

"No, no one would believe that the house elf was acting independently," Severus voiced firmly with a disappointed shake of his head. "House elves always obey their master's will. Even if the house elf said otherwise, people would just assume that its master had ordered it to say that and it was merely obeying his or her orders to give a false confession."

He decided to list Lucius' crimes to Severus to help the potion's master understand the true extent of Lucius' criminal dealings in order to help Severus make _the_ correct choice. "So that's two attempted murders of_ innocent_ schoolchildren from ancient and noble households, both war orphans, one a national hero and the other one a rising star. Then there is also the opening of the Chamber of Secrets to consider, that is another two attempted murders, if not an act of terrorism against the whole of magical Britain who have their children here," he gave Severus a piercing look to help emphasize the seriousness of these crimes. "Then we have assaulting an auror to add to the list and dealing in Class 5 Dark Arts artefacts. Finally, we now know that Lucius has been assisting a wanted criminal for several months now. Did you know Lucius met Peter at Christmas? Did he tell you that? How the pair of them discussed the best way to murder Lily's child?" Albus asked the utterly silent man who appeared to be in a state of shock.

"Poisoned chocolate candy Severus... it was meant to happen this coming Thursday," he added grimly. "What would have happened if Harry had offered to share those sweets with his friends and classmates? How many innocent people would have died along with Lily's only child?" once again mentioning Severus' first and only love to drive the point home.

"Lucius has to be stopped my friend, he's gone too far now," he stated firmly, his voice as hard as tempered goblin steel.

"Why are you telling me all this? Are you not worried that I'll run off and tell Lucius?" Severus challenged.

"I admit, I strongly considered keeping you out of the loop on this matter and very much in the dark for your own good," he voiced, believing that it was for the best to be honest with Severus. "But I knew that after the events had happened, _you _would have demanded an explanation as to why I didn't tell you. You would mistakenly think I didn't trust you and you would be resentful. And that wound would fester and grow between us," he stated.

"I know that you are a good man at heart Severus; you risked your life to protect Lily from Tom," once again using Lily's name and memory in the hope that it would make Severus do the right thing. "Events are in motion now and have been for some time, and unfortunately they cannot be stopped, even if I wanted them to. By the end of the week Lucius _will be arrested_ and the world will know of his many heinous crimes. We need to decide how best to protect _you_ and your godson Draco from the inevitable fallout of this," Severus seemed to refocus on him at this dose of hard reality.

"How bad do you think the fallout will be for Draco?" Severus asked. "He's only a child, not his father."

He took a moment to seriously consider the question, as several different scenarios and outcomes went through his sharp mind. "Very bad my _friend_, worse than even what happened to the Lestrange family after the war," he offered soberly. "People will want blood after hearing of Lucius' many crimes and the Ministry will want to make an example of him and his family. The Minister, despite his long personal friendship with Lucius, will be forced to take a hard line on the matter if he has any hope at all to hold onto his office. Otherwise people will assume he is defending his friend and long-time political benefactor... All it would take would be one piece of evidence, no matter how tenuous, showing a possible bribe between the two to reach the papers and he would be forced to step down in disgrace, all the while being investigated for corruption."

"Fudge will save his own ass then," Severus muttered quietly.

Ignoring Severus remark, he continued, "Just shows that gold doesn't buy reliable loyalty, my friend. The Prophet will naturally stoke the flames, driving up the public's fury, as the Malfoy name is dragged through the dirt. People like Rita Skeeter will encourage people's anger and disgust to last as long as it can. I personally expect that the Malfoy family will lose nearly everything, especially with Lucius having so many of his own powerful enemies wielding their influence to help destroy his family for good. You know as well as I do that Lucius has enough enemies to last ten lifetimes; there will be calls for him to be given the kiss or the veil in the courts. Lady Malfoy will also be questioned, after all, how can a wife not know of her husband's dirty dealings? She _will_ be questioned, interrogated might be the better word, and anything she was even remotely involved in will stick."

"To make the situation worse, due to Lucius' reckless actions, he has even alienated Narcissa's own birth family, a powerful family who could have possibly sheltered her and Draco from the full political fallout. I seriously doubt Sirius will lift a finger on their behalf now. And whatever personal favours Narcissa has gathered will be essentially worthless as people will avoid her like Dragon Pox. After all, no one will risk openly supporting them in case the aurors decide to investigate them too. Then add into the equation that other people will inevitably be put on trial. If they're fighting for their lives as well they will not want to risk being seen as connected with the Malfoys," he explained soberly. "Not to mention as soon as Veritaserum touches Lucius' lips I doubt Madam Bones will stop her questioning of him until she knows every dirty little secret he has ever been privy too."

"I see." Severus expressed, his face turning even paler.

"I thought you might," he offered as he sipped some more of his reheated tea, before putting the teacup back on its saucer. "The more the Aurors dig, the more dirt they'll find on _everyone_, allowing for more arrests, more questions, and more interrogations. The Aurors will have more than enough cause to even look at the Malfoy vaults, all its transactions reaching back to the beginning of the war and that will lead to fines. This will of course mean the vaults will be frozen during the court case, meaning no gold to hire lawyers or make bribes. Also there will be no money to support his family either, unless Narcissa has her own private vault, but I doubt that will be of much help. I expect the Malfoy family will be financially crippled from the fallout of Lucius' actions. You know the Ministry will take any chance they get to plunder some vaults and claim liquid assets for themselves. But we also have to deal with your own investigation."

"You don't want me anywhere near Veritaserum either, I know too much." Snape stated. "So what is your plan? How do we stop this from happening?" and thus Severus fell to his carefully crafted trap.

"We _can't_ stop it from happening. Like I said, the ball is already rolling, the spell has left the wand, all that's left now is damage control," he offered soberly. "If Lucius isn't arrested, how long do you think it will be until Sirius takes his own justice? His time in jail has hardened him; the only purpose he has left is to protect his godson and heir. Do you think he would hesitate to kill Lucius? A mass murderer who tried to kill his godson? The only connection he has left to his friends? To James and Lily?" intentionally using Lily's name again for maximum effect.

"I have already spoken to Madam Bones on your behalf. She has said that she would be willing to ignore your past in exchange for sharing everything you know about your former friends in the death eaters," Albus expressed.

"That will put a price on my head Albus," Severus voiced; his voice cold, but with an undercurrent of panic. "Not exactly one of your best ideas."

He raised a hand to stop Severus from panicking. "I know my dear boy, but there will never be an official interview on the record. You'll just sit down with Madam Bones and answer some questions, no Veritaserum involved. Name some names; tell her who did what crimes and where the evidence can be found, i.e. who killed her brothers. Do that and she would be willing to buy into the idea that you were just a spy, working on my behalf," he offered to the head of Slytherin. "Give her enough and _you_ will escape this purge."

"That's awfully vague," the head of Slytherin house voiced.

"We can always go over together what secrets you will share beforehand and work out how to spin them to the greatest effect," he offered with a grandfatherly smile. "It also gives me an excuse to start getting involved on your behalf and indirectly Draco's and his mother's. Need I remind you that some people may take the chance to kill young Draco and end the Malfoy line while it's particularly vulnerable, in order to take its wealth for themselves."

"What type of influence would you bring to bear? What would you be willing to do?" Severus asked, starting to buy into his masterful plan.

"The same as I did for you, my friend," he offered easily from his chair. "I'll place them under my protection and use my influence to ensure than the Malfoy house endures in some capacity. It will take some hits, but it will last. I'd even feel obligated to allow Draco to continue to attend Hogwarts, despite his father's many crimes against the school; however, it may be better for the lad if he got a fresh start elsewhere. But that will depend on his _guardian's_ judgement."

"You mean Narcissa's judgement?" the potions master corrected.

"Only if she is not in Azkaban, Severus," he countered, as he took another sip of his tea.

"Like I said earlier, the Ministry will want to make an example of her. Draco's guardianship will likely fall to you my friend, along with the responsibility of overseeing Draco's affairs. Draco respects _you_ and he is going to need a guardian who's capable of defending him and guiding him down a more moderate view of the world. Of course, with my help, the house of Malfoy will still have _some_ influence left; that's influence that you could discreetly wield to increase your own standing in the world," he expressed, holding out the proverbial carrot. "You would be the de facto head of the Malfoy family for the next half decade, probably longer as Draco seems like an individual that is all too easy to control," he observed.

"And you would get control of the Malfoy household through me," Severus opined.

"Not _control_ Severus, just influence," he corrected. "It would benefit the Malfoy household greatly if you publicly sided with me, after such a public fallout. Then I could introduce you to some business people that would tie Draco's remaining business interests into our own, keeping him within our control and firmly within the light," giving Severus an overview of his plan.

"Clever," Severus muttered thoughtfully.

"Thank you, I try my best," he offered with a grandfatherly smile, allowing the younger man a few moments to think over the proposal.

"Still sounds too good to be true," the potion's master expressed after several long minutes, clearly not trusting his plan.

"Naturally, your own improved position would depend upon Lady Malfoy being arrested and imprisoned, friendless and unprotected, along with Lucius' will naming you as his guardian of choice in case Narcissa is dead or unavailable. But I believe that the odds would be in your favour. Madam Bones could always offer Narcissa a deal... Sell out her husband in exchange for a lesser punishment. I believe Narcissa would take the chance if it was offered rather than risk imprisonment in Azkaban. However, that would risk alienating her son and we both know Draco worshiped his father, so such actions could be seen as a betrayal, destroying their relationship forever. I expect she will keep quiet rather than risk this happening," he explained.

"And if she does make a deal? Even if her son comes to hate her, she still keeps custody of Draco," Severus asked.

"Lady Malfoy is hardly Lucius. As Draco's godfather I'm sure your advice and guidance will be valued, and more importantly, trusted. She can hardly fault you for making a deal if she herself makes one. Draco will also need a male role model in his life, that's something that you can provide," Albus declared confidently.

"Is there any other way to stop this?" Severus asked. "Some way that the House of Malfoy comes out intact?"

He considered the question for a good two minutes before answering, "Madam Bones' case is air tight, but it is solely against Lucius; he is the necessary link in the chain. If he were to die before trial there would be no charges against his family, no fines, no investigation, just nothing. Sirius would have no case. The Chamber of Secrets mess couldn't be proven and the elf's actions would be forgotten."

"I can't believe what you're suggesting Albus!" Severus exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I suggested nothing; I don't approve of murder Severus, you should know that by _now," _he scolded firmly whilst giving the potion's master a sharp look. "You asked me, how to save the Malfoy family... Lucius is the only link to all the crimes. He is also a very real danger to Lily's son, one that has to be dealt with, that's either with life imprisonment and the dismantling of his house, or his death prior to trial. On another note, with the dark mark still visible and pulsing it proves that Lord Voldemort is still out there, despite the destruction of the horcrux in the diary. That means he either has a new body, or a new shell to anchor him, or that there is an additional horcrux or horcruxes still in existence that need to be destroyed. In either case, Lord Malfoy is one of Lord Voldemort's most capable and deadly servants; his removal now will severely weaken Lord Voldemort and his cause when he inevitably returns."

"You're asking me to betray one of my oldest friends," Severus voiced in protest.

"If that is truly distasteful to you, then do nothing and just keep your mouth shut. If you can't do that I'll just obliviate you here and now, for the greater good," he stated regrettably, but firmly, his wand already hidden in his lap, as Severus gave him a heated look at the threat. "However, if I do that, then you'll unfortunately have no knowledge of this plot against the Malfoys and thus little chance of dealing with it. That means you'll be in an even worse position to help yourself and your godson when the Aurors are on the march," their eyes met at this. He effortlessly batted away Severus' legilimency probe, before countering with his own. His mighty mental presence assaulted Severus' own defences as he destroyed the first layer of mental defences like a tidal wave crashing against a shore line, before pulling away, rather than diving deeper into the potion master's mind. He could have easily made the probe like a finely honed scalpel and cut through the defences with minimal intrusion, but a point needed to be made, hence the brute force method that would leave the man with a headache for hours.

"Want to try that again Severus?" he asked with an amused smile, hoping that Severus would just accept the point and stop these childish games. That was one of the worst traits Severus had, he was often a bully when threatened or feeling petulant, so every once in a while he had to be truly reminded of his place in the grand scheme of things, and that there were bigger fishes in the sea, who despite his great skill and power, could swallow him whole.

"You wouldn't dare obliviate me," Severus challenged, but refusing to meet his eyes.

He gave the potions master a disappointed smile before his wand, already in hand, rose like a striking cobra and shot a binding spell towards the potion master. Magical blue coils of thick energy wrapped around the man, holding him still in his seat. The magical blue coils of energy then pulsed to life, as they started sucking out Severus' magic to prevent the binding from being broken. He then causally summoned Severus' wand from his hoister to his open hand, as another spell silenced the man. "I would Severus, believe me when I say that I _will_ obliviate you. You may be my friend, but I've lost many good friends and many good students fighting this war. I've watched good people die fighting a war with little true purpose. I've walked down burnt out streets to find the bodies of gruesomely murdered children. I've walked into crime scenes just to see the dismembered limbs of raped wives and daughters. I don't plan on letting that happen again Severus, especially not for your murderous friend and his family who squandered every chance to repent." He lectured, as he walked over to his window and looked out over the grounds. The magical coils pulsed to life again as the potion master flexed his magic, struggling pointlessly against the spell while actually strengthening its hold on him.

Looking casually over his shoulder towards the struggling potion's master, the pulsating magical coils grew thicker and stronger as they firmly held Severus in place, absorbing more and more magical energy from the potion master's own core. "Don't bother struggling my friend. I created that spell for a wizard far stronger than you will ever be. For Lord Voldemort actually, if I ever got the chance to truly capture him," he offered with a proud smile, watching as the spell ran its course.

Turning back to look out the window, he silently watched the cloudless night and how the moonlight played across the Black Lake's water, whilst periodically looking at Severus in the reflection of the glass. The man continued to pointlessly try to fight the spell. "You are a valuable ally Severus and a good adviser to me, but you are not irreplaceable. Don't think for one moment that I won't do what needs to be done. I strongly suggest instead of struggling futilely, that you actually think about the bigger picture here."

Several long minutes passed as he watched Severus' reflection in the window, before he gave a disappointed sigh... Severus had obviously decided to be stubborn; it was time to deploy one of his backup plans.

Sitting back down at his desk, he quickly composed a note to Madam Bones explaining Severus' resistance to their plan. Fawkes appeared in mid air, clearly sensing his desire for the letter to be delivered. "Take this to Madam Bones please," he gently instructed, as his familiar snatched the letter out of his hand. Severus gave him a sharp look at where this was leading.

He gave his old friend a disappointed look, one that he commonly used with misbehaving students. "Plans were created in case you refused to assist us in doing your civic duty my friend; _you_ will now be spending the next couple of days in witness protection, under the care of the Aurors," Albus stated. "Since you have refused Madam Bones' rather generous deal, I expect you'll be questioned as well, since you have now thrown doubt on yourself as to whether you were really my spy in the death eaters ranks." Realizing that Severus may have something valuable to say, he ended the silencing charm with a flick of his wand.

"You don't think Lucius will notice my disappearance?" Severus sneered.

Smiling back at the bound man, "That is what polyjuice is for my friend," he answered with a smirk. "As far as the rest of the world will be concerned, you are still busy teaching potions. Fortunately for us, due to your bachelor status and your lack of popularity amongst the students and staff, no one will notice the switch, not even Draco," the burning anger disappeared from Severus' eyes at the realization that he truly had no one who would notice. "I strongly suggest you use your upcoming free time to think about your life my friend. If you had accepted my offer I would have made sure that you and Draco were kept safe, that your position and rank rose whilst under my protection and guidance. I ask you this; do you think Lucius would sacrifice himself for you? Do you think he would show you even a shred of the loyalty you believe you're acting on for him?"

He spent the next couple of minutes silently watching Severus wrestle with his hidden emotions. "He didn't even tell you of his plot in the first place. You, my friend, are acting like a stubborn Gryffindor, rather than a cunning and ambitious Slytherin. Lucius is as good as caught, that is a fact," Fawkes reappeared with a puff of flames, a note carefully held within its talons.

Quickly reading the note, he shared what it said, "Madam Bones will be here in a couple of minutes to take you into protective custody for your own good."

"Say whatever you want Albus. Whatever allows you to sleep better at night," the potions master spat back.

He smiled at this simple act of defiance, so out of character for the man, much like a stubborn child refusing to apologise for obviously misbehaving. "If you really must know about my sleeping habits Severus, I sleep perfectly sound, despite the many horrors I've seen in my long life... Ah, they're here," he stated, feeling the school's protective wards notifying him of expected visitors. He stood up to meet the new arrivals.

"For fuck's sake Albus, are you trying to get me killed!" Severus exclaimed, struggling again against the magical bindings, as he casually sent another silencing spell at the restrained potions master, muting him.

Moments later his fireplace sprang to life, as the first law enforcement officer stepped out of the magical green flames, his blood red robes marking him as an Auror. Another two followed through the fireplace in quick succession, in matching uniforms.

"Good evening, I assume you have been briefed on your assignment," he asked the trio.

"Yes Headmaster," they replied, as he recognised them as his own former students, causing him to smile proudly.

"I'll be the one replacing Professor Snape," the elder auror declared, as he recognised the former Hufflepuff students.

He smiled back at his former charge, standing there proudly in his uniform, his back straight, his eyes alert and eager. This was why he loved being the headmaster of Hogwarts, how his guidance helped shape the next generation of witches and wizards. As he looked over his former students, he saw the inner confidence the trio had. "Very good Daniel, do you believe that you can successfully replace Severus here?" he asked, as he made eye contact with the auror, a mental probe effortlessly breaking through the natural surface barriers undetected to find the truth. At first he felt nervousness from the auror, before courage swelled in Daniel's heart. He already knew the Auror's likely reply.

"Yes headmaster, I believe I can," Daniel voiced confidently.

"Very well then," he declared, as he turned to look at the other two aurors. "Miss Chambers, Mr. Roles, please escort Severus into protective custody."

"One minute headmaster, I need to collect some hair samples," Daniel declared, as he moved to the potion master's side, the former Hufflepuff student giving Severus an evil smirk. "Please remain still Professor Snape; you wouldn't want me to miss with the cutting charm now would you."

"I would just use a shaving charm Daniel," Miss Chamber suggested off-handed, the former Gryffindor student giving her former potion's professor a predatory smile. "That way we have plenty to use; don't want to run out half way through the assignment now do we?" Severus shot him a pleading look to intervene. However, before he could, a white light he recognised as a standard shaving charm taught in charms by Filius, hit Severus squarely in the forehead, causing all of Severus' dark hair to fall out.

Fighting the urge to chuckle at the sight of a bald Severus, he schooled his features into a look of mild disapproval at the Aurors' unnecessary antics. "I believe that is enough teasing of Severus."

"Of course, headmaster," Daniel quickly agreed, before gathering the dark hair with a summoning charm and storing it in a makeshift brown bag.

"Oh, whilst I remember, the silver ring on Severus' left hand, middle finger actually, is a port-key to a safe house," Severus shot him another look at this seeming betrayal, clearly wondering how he knew of the ring's function. "We wouldn't want Severus here escaping your care now would we?"

**Midnight Lord**

He couldn't help but smile as he sat back down on his comfortable bed, as he bit into rich green apple, the sweet, but slightly sour juices running over his highly sensitive tongue.

He looked over the student questionnaire/survey form he had just written, re-reading the couple dozen elegantly written questions upon the tanned parchment. The questions were on a good mix of subject contents, things like teaching style, favourite subject, worst subject, best teacher, worst teacher and so forth. This was the start of how he was going to get back at the manipulative headmaster for revealing his animagus form to virtually the entire British magical community.

Back in primary school his teachers would often ask the class how they would rate the module, so that they could improve the material for next year's class. Hogwarts on the other hand didn't do this, in any form, so either they just didn't care about what their students thought of their subjects or the school in general, or perhaps they just arrogantly assumed that they knew better than their charges or even worse, just assuming they were the best and would always remain that way... Snape, for example, probably thought that. Or perhaps the idea just never occurred to them to ask their students, with their unique perspective, what they thought. It also probably didn't occur to them that different students learned in different ways and that one singular uniform approach to teaching did not and would not get the best results for everyone. Whilst this was a simple scheme to get a modicum of payback, there were several alternate reasons behind it, beyond just simple revenge and his personal need to get even with the manipulative old bastard.

On a personal level, he was bored, very bored. His lessons were no longer challenging, in some cases the lessons were so utterly worthless to him that he actively skipped the classes, actually preferring the inevitable detention with his head of house rather than listening to the fool drone on. This latest scheme of his would hopefully force a change. He didn't want to be held back from reaching his potential by attending classes that merely wasted his limited and valuable time via unchallenging work. He wanted to climb to the top, to be pushed, to be challenged to grow and excel beyond his current limits and skills. He simply wanted to learn more, to improve his understanding of magic so that he could fulfil the promise he made to himself before joining Hogwarts, to make his dead parents proud. Hogwarts' vaunted reputation for excellence was looking like complete and utter fucking bullshit at the moment, or perhaps was only true a long, long time ago. The alternative made him shudder; if Hogwarts really was the premier magical learning institution in all of Europe, he didn't even want to know how bad the rest were.

The by product of this scheme would also have the effect of improving the standard of teaching for everyone; well, he hoped it would, otherwise he would be giving serious consideration to transferring to another school. The Potter family's wealth and power had always been based in Britain and thus attending Hogwarts was both a long tradition as well as a good idea to make contacts and be visible to the who's who of magical Britain. However, there was a point of diminishing returns. If Hogwarts was holding him back from reaching his true potential, it wouldn't matter how many contacts he made in Britain, he'd be impaired for life.

After the student survey was completed the second part of his plan would begin. The gathered results would be processed and then sent off to Rita so that she could write up a startling article on the state of the Hogwarts education system, backed up with historical and publically available (but hard to find) exam results to show the many failing areas of the school's curriculum. This, combined with both Sirius' formal complaint and the upcoming Triwizard Tournament, would hopefully rouse the ire of the sheep-like British magicals, creating quite a headache for the headmaster to handle. And with the headmaster's currently weakened position his plan's degree of effectiveness would increase greatly, helping to make bigger waves and hopefully trigger a positive change to the school.

Putting the draft questionnaire to one side, he still had to decide how to effectively and stealthily deploy the survey around the school and collect the results without being detected by either the headmaster or the staff members. Seeing no immediate solution to the dilemma, he decided to do something else with his remaining evening and think on the matter later.

Lazily flicking his wand to summon his fourth year charms book to his bedside, he turned to the bookmarked page. Once again he was reading about a fascinating piece of magic called animation charms, and their inner workings.

Animation magic actually encompassed an entire subset of varying magic in the charms field, and was one of the most difficult types of charms to master. They required a clear and specific intent, a great deal of concentration and an intimate understanding of both the magic at work and the desired outcome. The user had to be able to visualize and understand every aspect of the movement. At first glance that seemed easy, but imagine, for example, all the unconscious pieces involved in successfully walking or running or doing any complex action. Most of the time we do these things unconsciously without giving much thought to the individual pieces and parts. You couldn't do that with animation charms. In time, a skilled practitioner could do most of that unconsciously, but like a child learning to walk, there was a great deal of practice required. The magic also required just the right amount of power behind the spell, too much power would destabilize the spell matrix causing the object to explode, not enough power and the object would fail to animate properly. You also had to take into account the object's size, and the material that it was made out of before casting the spell as some materials were more magically resistant than others. Bronze, for instance, was an incredibly magic resistant material to apply external magic to.

So in essence, it was one big balancing act, with many individual parts that all needed to come together perfectly to work properly. The mind arts would prove a huge help. One of the easiest objects to animate was human shaped statues. Unless handicapped from birth everyone had a bit of unconscious knowledge on how a person should move correctly in the back of their minds.

The problem he was currently facing, as he looked around his Spartan room, was that he had nothing human-like in shape to animate.

For any other use, he could just transfigure some objects into human -like shapes and statues, but the transfiguration magic, at his absolutely beginner level, would create interference with the animation charms, making it even more difficult to achieve the correct balance needed for the charms to work properly as two different types of magic were forced to coexist in a single vessel. A skilled wizard with a great deal of experience in animation magic could unconsciously take that into account and adjust accordingly within moments, but he was a long, long way from that level of proficiency. Considering the problem for a second, he decided to take the safer option and give his cousin a visit to see if he couldn't temporarily borrow a couple of her teddy's for some experimentation, rather than risk making the task more difficult and more dangerous by combining two different brands of magic together at his current novice level.

After all, he was a Ravenclaw; he wasn't some reckless Gryffindor who charged blindly into dangerous situations and merely hoped for the best. He was just fine with slow and steady progress in this case.

**Wednesday**

He didn't let his sour mood show as he moved about the hidden safe house completing his morning activities. The Aurors carefully watched his movements, like hawks watching a potential meal.

Despite only being in their presence for a couple of hours, it was already clear to him by the looks they discreetly sent his way that this small band of aurors knew about his shadier past. And naturally, like true professionals, they were not taking any chances with him as they carefully shadowed his every move. This was despite the fact that they had already placed upon him a pair of magical handcuffs, specifically charmed to allow him the free use of his hands, but otherwise prevented him from leaving the building by his own free will. Years of watching different groups of people from the shadows in the service of Lord Voldemort taught him how to read people. He could tell his watchers were more than capable, as he noted the small tell-tale signs of capable professionals on the job.

That meant that his chances of successfully escaping this 'protective custody' were at an all time low, especially with no wand of his own to use. In short, he was trapped, with limited options available to him.

Sitting down silently at the plain, wooden breakfast table, he considered his options, but regrettably found that they were extremely limited without outside help. His only hope of warning Lucius was in Draco noticing that something was wrong with his 'double.' Whilst his pride as a godfather hoped his godson would notice that he had been replaced with an imposter, a small, but growing voice in the back of his mind whispered otherwise, filling him with doubts. Unfortunately for him, Draco was very much a hothead and very self absorbed with his notions of personal superiority. He'd likely only notice the swap if it was patently obvious to all and sundry... That was one of Draco's many weaknesses, the inability to notice the little details that were often necessary for a good plan to succeed.

To add more salt to the open wound that was his damaged pride, the Gryffindors would surely notice the change, even more than his own Slytherins. He could already predict that Longbottom and his know-it-all sidekick Granger would investigate the matter. That was truly a sobering thought, the idea that the Gryffindors were far more likely to notice his replacement than his own godson or his Slytherin students. He made a mental note to instruct Draco, upon his return to freedom of course, on how to identify polyjuiced agents and imposters.

"Professor Snape would you like some breakfast?" a house elf asked politely, with a hint of eagerness that was so common for their race.

Looking down at the creature before him dressed in a neat uniform, he answered, "Just tea," he replied emotionlessly, suppressing the dark remarks that were ever on his tongue. The house elf disappeared immediately to complete his task with joy.

"You should eat something," one of his watchers unnecessarily suggested.

"I am not hungry. I suppose that is what happens when you have just been kidnapped against your will and then locked in a house," he sneered back, letting some of his anger vent as the house elf returned and served his tea, as well as giving him the morning paper.

The auror just shrugged off the remarks, making it clear that his words had no effect on him, "Suit yourself. Madam Bones will be around shortly to talk with you. I believe she has a lot of questions to ask," he sipped his drink in silence at that, trying desperately to keep his panic from showing all the while trying to come up with a makeshift plan to deal with the Head of Law enforcement.

'I should have taken Albus' offer,' he groused.

**Number 12 **

Since his meeting with Madam Bones there had been only one name running through his mind, one singular person that brought forth all his anger and hatred, 'Lucius.' He once again considered his old enemy, who had managed to escape justice following the end of the last war whilst he, an innocent man, had suffered in Azkaban for over a decade. Not even spending the morning with his godson Harry had brought a respite from his all encompassing rage he was feeling at the injustice, the unfairness of it all.

Naturally, he was extremely proud of his godson who was proving to be far more driven and talented than he ever was at the age of 12, but was perhaps a tad too serious. However, he was patiently working on getting Harry to loosen up and act his age a bit. He personally thought that Harry just needed a good caring family that he could learn to trust and who never failed that trust. Progress was being made on that front, after all Harry was already opening up to him and Tonks. And in due course he would find a girlfriend that he trusted as well, further drawing him out of his hardened shell. That was one of the reasons why he baited Harry into taking up those 'challenges.' He could get his godson to loosen up through those outlandish tasks. Add in the prize his godson saw as valuable and desirable and he knew Harry would give it his all, no matter his personal feelings.

Speaking of giving his all... He had been rendered near speechless when he first heard of his godson's success in becoming an animagus at such a young age; however, he was even more impressed with Harry's animal counterpart, even if it was just an overgrown cat... Well, that was what his inner dog was telling him anyways, but the part of him that was a human wizard knew that the Tiger was not just an overgrown housecat that he could chase around for his own amusement.

Nevertheless, he needed to start rallying support to confront his old enemy, to start putting friends in place to cause Lord Malfoy the most trouble when Madam Bones' scheme hopefully succeeded. He was in a rather unique position actually. With his foreknowledge of the rare opportunity to do some damage to the slippery snake, he could marshal his resources long ahead of time.

Throwing on his best set of silk robes, he tried to tame his wild black hair for his upcoming meeting with Nicholas. While he was naturally wary of getting Nicholas and his house involved in their private matters, he was well aware that the Greengrass household held considerably more pull and influence with the elite of magical Britain than his own house did at the moment. Regrettably, he also knew that there would be a price to be paid for the family's assistance; after all, there was nothing truly _free_ in the world of politics. Hopefully the cost could be minimized if Nicholas saw that his own household could profit from assisting him, and indirectly Harry, against Lord Malfoy.

He would also have to pay a formal visit to Lady Longbottom and see if she would agree to render assistance in the coming weeks as well. He was pretty sure that the Lady Longbottom would readily agree to assist him in this matter, since it would be in her own house's interest to help cripple the Malfoy family. He expected that the old battle axe would demand something for her help as well, if only on principle.

He looked himself over in his special mirror, "Hey good looking," the mirror purred in approval, as Sirius examined himself critically.

'I need to get Harry one of these mirrors...' he noted with amusement, as the mirror continued to voice its approval for his outfit, as he checked himself over. 'Damn, I'm sexy.'

**Hogwarts**

Returning from his daily archery practice, rain dripped steadily from his soaked clothes, his yew short bow held lightly in his off hand as he silently moved through the empty halls up to his dorm room to shower and change, before starting his rather boring school day. His marksmanship skills were improving by leaps and bounds, his upper body growing more and more defined, muscular and powerful under the gruelling training regime he had been following since the start of his first year. Whilst it would still be a long time before he could call himself a 'master' archer, his skills were progressing nicely. With his ever increasing accuracy, he could now track and hit a moving target at a range of up to 150 yards. His stamina and rate of fire was also improving rapidly.

All in all, he was feeling quite happy with his progress, as he gracefully climbed another set of shifting stairs to his dorm room, the magical portraits beginning to stir from their sleep, their mighty yawns echoing around the empty halls. It was like a chain reaction as the loud yawns woke up their sleeping neighbours, which triggered yet more yawns. Even a bewitched set of plate armour stretched its metal joints before releasing a metallic sounding yawn, causing him to smile.

However, his amused smile didn't last long, as his mind turned back to more serious matters, such as Madam Bones' plot to catch Lucius Malfoy red handed. The plan seemed sound to his youthful and inexperienced mind. He privately acknowledged, though, that he was no tactical genius or expert in law enforcement tactics and methodology, so ultimately he felt he had no right to question the experienced auror on her plan of entrapment anyways. This was especially true when it became clear to him that she very much wanted Lucius caught and successfully jailed. He was uncertain whether to tell his friends and allies within the school about the plan though. Rationally he knew that the more people who knew, the greater the risk of the plan being compromised and thus failing; but if he didn't tell his friends then they would assume he didn't trust them and that would undermine their friendship and all his efforts to this point.

However, on a positive note, with his upcoming fake death, it meant that he no longer had to worry about asking anyone out on Valentine's Day, which lifted a small burden of decision from his shoulders. On the other hand, it would also prove to be a double edged sword, as he predicted that upon his return his fame and status, both within the school and the wider wizarding world, would further increase, making him an even more tempting target for girls like Lavender. He had to remind himself of the old saying that 'there was no such thing as bad publicity' while hoping to Merlin that that was true.

Approaching the common room door, the auror guard glanced over the top of her women's magazine as he walked up to the enchanted doorknob.

"Give me food and I will live; give me water and I will die. What am I?" the magical doorknob asked.

"Fire," he replied after a couple seconds thought. The common door silently swung open at his answer, revealing the empty Ravenclaw common room.

**Greengrass Manor**

"Good morning Nicholas; I trust you are well today?" Sirius greeted politely as the pair of Lords sat down in the living room to discuss upcoming business.

Smiling back at his friend and good natured political ally, he answered, "Yes, I'm quite well, thank you Sirius. Yourself?" he replied cheerfully, as he sipped on his extra strong morning tea.

"I can't truly complain," Sirius replied, as he helped himself to some of the tea on offer. "How is your family?"

Smiling back, "Astoria is excited about finally getting her wand, I'll tell you that! She has even stolen mine a few times to 'practice.' I'm considering getting her a couple of tutors to help prepare her for Hogwarts, just like I did with Daphne," he offered back fondly. "I heard about Harry successfully becoming an animagus. That is an amazing achievement for one so young. You must be very proud," paying Sirius' godson a genuine compliment.

"Indeed I am, although I too was rather surprised at his success so soon. In fact when he was just discovering his form, he told me he was 'just a cat.' You can imagine my shock and astonishment when I saw him transform into a several hundred pound tiger!" Sirius offered with a carefree chuckle, before his face turned serious.

Noticing the sudden earnestness in Sirius' posture, he realized that something was wrong and it was time to get down to business, "Something on your mind Sirius?" Nicholas asked.

Nodding, "Yes, a very serious matter," Sirius replied. His curiosity was stirred.

Putting his teacup down on the table, he put on his game face, "What's the serious matter you're talking about?" Nicholas asked.

"I just found out who hired Peter Pettigrew to kill Harry," Sirius voiced evenly, but coldly, an undercurrent of tightly controlled rage detectable in his voice.

"Peter was hired?" he questioned, wanting to confirm what he had just heard, since his own sources all indicated that Peter was acting alone.

"Indeed, I think _you_ can guess who hired him," Sirius remarked, the silent challenge clear, as his mind jumped into gear.

A good couple of minutes passed before he hissed his answer to Sirius' question, "Lucius." Sirius nodded grimly in response, confirming his answer.

"Do you any evidence of this?"

"Yes, but it's weak. However, there are plans to change that," Sirius confirmed, with a hint of anger slipping into his rigid posture. "I have a plan in motion with Madam Bones. We intend to catch Lucius in the act. But you know as well as I do just how greasy Lucius is and how far his gold spreads within the Ministry. I would ask your help to ensure that when Lucius is finally caught and brought to trial that he receives true justice, rather than buying his freedom like he did before."

He didn't have to think long at all to know what his answer would be, after all, Lucius had been a thorn in his and his family's side for decades; this was a perfect opportunity to finally and permanently deal with the Malfoy family without any major risk to his own. It also had the side benefit of assuring a closer friendship, backed up by action rather than just words, with Sirius and indirectly Harry. With Harry a dual heir, as well as coming to be seen as a prodigy of magic, not to mention the boy's ambitious plans already in motion, this could lead to a powerful alliance stretching long into the future with an up and coming power broker of magical Britain. "I think I can do that," Nicholas readily agreed.

"Thank you," Sirius replied, his posture relaxing at the favourable answer.

"You're welcome, _my_ _friend._ Lucius has been a thorn in my side for many years," he admitted freely, as he reached back for his teacup. "It would be wonderful to finally deal with him. So when does this plan take place?"

"Within the next couple of days..." Sirius replied, causing him to blink a few times in shock at how quickly things were moving.

He considered Sirius' shocking, but cryptic response, "I see. Is there anything else I should know?" he asked, wanting to get as many details as possible so that he could take proper advantage of the unfolding drama.

"We know that there is going to be an attack on Harry, to take place tomorrow. Harry is going to fake his death with the help of some polyjuiced aurors stationed within Hogwarts," Sirius offered, the pieces starting to fall into place.

"Ah, how very clever of you," he expressed, after some thought.

"Thank you," Sirius replied, giving a soft nod of his head.

He smiled back at Sirius. It was now time to ask his price; in other words what he wanted in exchange for his assistance in this matter. Considering their interests aligned so well, and both knew it, it would be imprudent to ask for too much. After all, there may come a time when he would need to ask Sirius and Harry for a favour and either believing they had been taken advantage of in the past would not serve his or his family's long-term interests. "When Lucius is finally removed and arrested his Hogwarts governor seat will be forfeit. It will need filling with a suitable candidate..." he said leadingly, Sirius nodding in understanding. "I trust that you will support my wife's bid for appointment to the school's Board of Governors?"

"Of course, my friend," Sirius replied with a smile. "I trust that you will keep what we have discussed to yourself."

"Naturally, there is _no_ profit in it if it is shared around," he replied with a mischievous smile. Well pleased with the outcome of the conversation.

**Hogwarts**

He wasted no time as the pointless lesson finally ended, his textbooks quickly being thrown into his bag before he marched straight out of the history of magic classroom. He expertly and efficiently made his way towards the school library, with the goal of hopefully catching Penny there so that they could talk. While they were still on sour terms with each another after their falling out, with his fake death happening soon he was hastily taking steps to get his 'house' in order before he was gone. One such problem with his 'house' was Luna, as he thought about the bizarre first year Ravenclaw that he had successfully mentored for the last half a year. The first year Ravenclaw had been unofficially under his protection, under his proverbial wing as it were, and he wanted to make sure that there was another student in place to keep an eye on her and protect her whilst he was gone from Hogwarts. Given her number one ranking in her year, coupled with her at times off-putting demeanour, he wouldn't put it past the rank and file Ravenclaws to act against her out of jealousy when she didn't have a strong patron to look out for her.

"Slow down Harry," Padma requested, as his first friend struggled to keep up with his fast walking pace.

He forced himself to slow down, "Sorry, but I need to get quite a bit done today," he offered in explanation, as he navigated his way through the castle, before he quickly sidestepped another group of older students milling around.

She finally caught up with him, "What do you need to get done?" Padma asked.

"Homework, to start... I also have Quidditch practice after dinner as well as my normal training with Tonks," he offered back in hurried explanation, but at the same time making a concerted effort to avoid giving away any important details.

Accepting his explanation for what it was, they passed another group of students, "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" Padma enquired.

He then saw where this conversation was actually going, "Besides avoiding Lavender? I don't know," he joked, an easy, but charming smile on his lips, hoping to distract his friend. "I'm skipping our DADA lesson; I don't want anything to do with what that idiotic fraud is planning for Valentine's Day."

"So you're not going to ask anyone out on a date?" Padma asked, he caught a hint of red on her cheeks.

"Nope," he replied firmly, knowing that it would be a major disappointment to Padma, since she clearly wanted him to ask her out. Unfortunately, he was faking his death tomorrow, so that was going to ruin the day anyway, so why bother?

He listened with some sympathy as Padma gave him a disappointed, "Oh," but continued to make his way up another flight of stairs. "I'm going to see if I can't find my sister," she said, before quickly running off.

**Midnight Lord**

Noticing a shadow hanging over her workspace that had broken her concentration from the important assignment she was working on, she looked up from her half completed essay, ready to quickly send away whichever individual had broken her concentration. However, her annoyance faded slightly at the sight of Harry waiting to speak with her. "Can I have a moment of your time Penny?" he enquired, as he looked over her half-written essay with a hint of genuine interest.

Her response was automatic, her tongue speaking for her despite her mind still thinking over how to answer the question. "Of course."

"Thank you. If I may ask, what are you working on?" Harry politely asked, as he took a free seat next to her.

"Charms essay on the bubble-head charm," she offered out of reflex considering how long she had mentored Harry, whilst placing her quill into the ink pot for safe keeping, rather than risking ink laden quill tainting her work.

"What does it do?" Harry asked, as he tilted his head down, so that he could try to read her work.

Her inner teacher suddenly kicked in, "The spell creates a mostly transparent, flexible bubble around your head, trapping air in and separating out breathable air from water or purifying air as it passes through the bubble. It is mainly used for diving, when combating fires to avoid smoke inhalation, or when encountering poisonous clouds of air," she explained quickly, feeling slightly better with herself than she had for a while now.

"That's a rather useful spell," Harry stated, clearly noting down the spell in his mental notes for his own study and research at a later date.

"So what is it you want Harry?" she asked, wanting to get back to her work before she completely lost focus on what she was writing as she felt the words slipping from her mind.

His features suddenly turned serious, before offering a simple "One moment please," his wand suddenly jumping into his open hand, before he quickly erected a privacy spell around them. For an instant a dome of clear silver energy appeared over them, before it faded from sight.

"I have a small favour to ask," he said, before he carefully put his wand away.

"What type of favour? And why should I help you?" she asked sceptically, her mind, for once in this conversation, thankfully beating her mouth to an instant agreement. She wondered what Harry was up to and if this was some type of new scheme he had cooked up. She quickly corrected herself mentally, of course it was a scheme. Harry always had plans in motion of some type, usually with carefully hidden agendas.

"Can you keep an eye on Luna for me?" he asked. This unexpected request threw her completely off balance. "And why? First, I'd owe you one and you know that I always pay my debts. Second, you're not the type of person to allow someone to be bullied if you can stop it and Luna is often picked on."

She considered the request, but decided to ask for more information, rather than risk being artfully manipulated again by Harry. "Why do you need me to look out for her?"

"Simply put, I won't be in Hogwarts for the next couple of days, possibly longer," Harry offered in explanation, as well as creating more questions for her to ask.

Naturally, her curiosity kicked in, "Where are you going?"

Harry's serious features shifted, as he clearly weighed up his own response to her question, before providing her with a surprising answer. "Into hiding." She raised a questioning eyebrow, "There is going to be an attempt on my life tomorrow." She shifted uneasily in her seat, concern flooding her for Harry's safety as Harry added. "It has been decided that I should go into hiding until such time that _Peter_ is finally dealt with, hence my death is going to be faked tomorrow with the assistance of the Aurors," he explained easily, without a hint of concern, just raw confidence. "This means that I could be out of school for a couple of days, or a couple of months, hence why I want to ensure that Luna is looked after in my absence. I also trust that _you_ will keep this information between the two of us, otherwise these plans could be undermined."

She already knew her answer, "Yes, I'll keep an eye on Luna for you," she agreed, as she gave him a worried look. "Are you going to tell Tonks about this?"

Giving her a fond smile at her obvious worry, he replied, "Yeah, I'll tell Tonks this afternoon. How have you been by the way?"

"A bit under the weather Harry," she replied, her mouth betraying her once again.

"Oh? Nothing too serious, I hope?" he probed, showing signs of genuine concern.

"Nothing to be worried about," she offered back, feeling slightly better with herself.

"That's good. Has Percy or Reese asked you out yet for Valentine's Day?" he asked, as he eyed her books again with interest.

She smiled as she answered, "Percy did, but I declined. Reese hasn't asked me yet."

"His loss," Harry replied, causing her to send him an amused look.

"How would you know that Harry?" she asked, not knowing how the words got into her mouth, yet again.

A sad smile appeared on his features, "Because I _lost_ you," Harry replied regretfully, his words pulling strongly on her heartstrings, before he left her alone to continue her work. Unfortunately for her, she was no longer in the mood for it.

**Midnight Lord**

**Longbottom Manor – Mid-Day **

Longbottom Manor was exactly the same as he remembered it; the halls were still sterile and lifeless, like a grand, but empty museum, with family portraits hanging from the highly decorative stone walls. He took them in as a house elf quickly lead him to his mistress. Entering the conservatory, the sunlight was flooding into the glass room. He fondly remembered Frank and Alice's wedding day, how the three of them had shared a toast together in this very room as the garden party unfolded outside. It was then that he noticed Lady Longbottom sitting silently in her Victorian style armchair reading the morning paper, before taking a careful sip of her tea, prior to finally registering his presence in the room.

He instinctively knew that it would be best for him to stay overly formal with the old bird that reminded him so much of Professor McGonagall and follow, to the letter, the age old traditions that had been ruthlessly drilled into him as a child by his mother. "Thank you for seeing me so soon, Lady Longbottom," he addressed formally, giving a slight bow as tradition demanded, his hand neatly folded behind his back.

"What can I and the Great House of Longbottom do for you today, Lord Black?" she enquired formally, with a hint of smugness in her aging voice, but each word carrying a hint of underlying bitterness. She then gestured to one of the free armchairs as she folded the paper in half, thus granting him permission to sit down in the free seat across from her.

"I request your assistance, Lady Longbottom, with a matter of great importance," Sirius asked formally, noticing Lady Longbottom shifting in her chair in interest.

"It depends on the matter at hand and ultimately whether it's in my family's best interests to help you," she stated clearly, as she flattened her traditional gown.

"Naturally," he replied, realistically expecting no less from her.

"So what is it that you are asking for?" she asked, getting straight down to business as her aging eyes met his own, seemingly to better read him and his intentions.

Choosing his words carefully, he made his pitch, "I'm sure that you are aware that there have been a number of attempts on my heir's life this past year," he offered, as she tilted her head in acknowledgement. "I received word from Madam Bones. She believes that Peter Pettigrew, the confirmed attempted assassin, is working for Lord Malfoy and at his behest; I would like to request your assistance in ensuring that both are suitably punished when the pair of them of them are brought to trial in the near future."

Several minutes passed as Lady Longbottom digested the news, before giving her answer, "I believe that I can be of assistance in this matter. Lord Malfoy is no friend of mine. Madam Bones also believes that Lord Malfoy is the one behind the attempts on my own grandson's life, as well as the one trying to besmirch my family's name with scandalous articles."

He smiled internally at the news, "So our interests are well aligned in this goal," he asked, wanting to confirm, without any doubt, that he had her assistance.

A sly smile appeared on her weathered lips, "For the moment our goals are the same, or at least until Lord Malfoy is properly dealt with," Lady Longbottom confirmed. "However, I expect a favour in return."

He knew how this game was played. "What do you require, my Lady?" he asked carefully, wanting to get a feel for what Lady Longbottom wanted in return.

"My grandson has expressed an interest in becoming an animagus, and I can see the benefits of having such a rare ability. I hope you would be agreeable to teaching him the skill," Lady Longbottom voiced, her eyes watching him.

Considering her request for a good minute while he delicately sipped his tea, he silently weighed up the pros and cons of her request, before a small confirming smile appeared on his lips, giving her his answer. "Whilst I have no issue with teaching your grandson the skill, it needs to be clear from the start that becoming an animagus is very much a self-driven skill, a journey of self-discovery that requires a great deal of time, skill and dedication to successfully achieve even if one uses the potion shortcut to discover one's animal form. No matter how skilled the teacher, success or failure is ultimately more in the student's hands than anyone else's. I can provide him with the guidance and direction needed to begin the journey, but it will be very much up to Neville whether he successfully learns the skill. It can take several years or more to learn."

Noticing a sudden shift in posture, the old witch's demeanour became more assertive, more defensive at this answer. "Your godson successfully learnt the skill. Are you implying that my grandson is not capable of the same feat?" she asked, with a hint of challenge.

"No, I am most certainly _not_ implying that," he quickly replied, as he searched for the correct words to defuse the situation. "Harry is a very unique and driven individual in nature, especially so at his age. If he wants something, he will work ceaselessly for it, putting all his energy and drive into making it happen despite anything the world would say on the subject. If he wants to learn a new skill, he will, as failure simply isn't an option in his mind," he gave her a stern look to convey his seriousness, that he wasn't bullshitting her. "My intention is merely to make it clear that the skill cannot simply be taught like any ordinary spell, it's a very unique piece of magic after all. It requires a rare self-awareness and inner focus. I can give Neville the tools and the knowledge to set him on the path, but it will be very much up to him to unlock the ability, if he even has the potential for it. In fact, most of the work will be self-study."

"I'm sure _Neville_ will be a satisfactory student," she voiced confidently, clearly disregarding his words and missing the whole point.

He decided to keep his peace on the subject until he met Alice and Frank's son for himself. "I'm sure he will be," he voiced, knowing that his deceased friend Frank had been a hardworking individual with an incredibly strong personal work ethic. That would be required for Neville to have any hope for success.

"I would also like to introduce Neville to some better company," she added, before sipping thoughtfully on her tea.

He considered the aging witch's words. They sounded suspiciously like his own mother's from way back when, but he still had no clue what she meant. "Better company?" he asked, hoping to show that he genuinely didn't understand.

"Yes, better company," she confirmed, rather unhelpfully.

"Is there something wrong with Neville's current company?" he asked, whilst trying to remember what Harry had told him of Neville and his friends.

"My grandson currently spends far too much of his time hanging around with the Weasley children. Whilst their family is upstanding and firmly in the light, their youngest son lacks any work ethic or drive, and is unfortunately dragging Neville down with him. I wish to correct that," Lady Longbottom voiced.

He immediately saw the potential political advantages of establishing closer relations with the Longbottom family, one of the most influential light side families in magical Britain. However, at the same time, he knew that Harry would not like being forced into associating with anyone unless it was his own personal choice. Unfortunately, he couldn't outright deny her request without insulting her and her house and possibly ending this temporary alliance before it even began. "I'll talk to Harry about it," he finally demurred.

"Talk?" she challenged. "A child does as his parent or guardian instructs. They do as their elders command."

Having some flashbacks to his own bitter, hate-filled mother at that moment did little to help his state of mind. "You haven't met my godson," he muttered unintentionally, beneath his breath, before quickly adding. "Harry is very independent and strong-willed, that's one of the very reasons why he was able to successfully become an animagus so young. I'll _encourage_ him to talk to Neville, but he has his mother's stubbornness," he replied with a small, charming smile, which had absolutely no affect on the Lady Longbottom. He considered what his godson would do in retaliation if he actually tried to _force_ Harry to do anything he didn't want to. He mightily resisted the shudder that went up his spine.

**End of Chapter**

**Another Note: **Sorry about the long waited update... but it been a sunny summer for once so I wanted to enjoy =) That said, enjoy the 18.1k update


	39. Y2 Confrontation Pt 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Message to readers: **EliasAngel account has been banned and removed, I just got message from wattpad staff informing me of this. I'd just like to thank everyone for their support in this manner, when I woke up this morning, I found close to 200 private messages on this matter from you guys annoucing your support. So thank you... Now heres the story update I promised =) enjoy!

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 39 Confrontations Pt3**

**** Posted ****18th October ****2013****

**Revised and****Beta'd by the Magnificent 'Joe Lawyer'**

**Wednesday – Morning**

The first female head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was in a very good mood this morning, good enough that she almost had a visible bounce in her step, as her ambitious plans _finally_ started to come together. Her excellent mood didn't go unnoticed by her employees either, already several of her 'braver' employees had taken the opportunity to ask for additional time off, or pay raises. But, unfortunately, they all had to be denied, due to one reason or another. The main reason was that the department was already both understaffed and underfunded. If she had it her way all of her aurors would be better paid, better equipped, with better working hours and conditions, but she just didn't have the gold in her department's annual budget to make that even a remote possibility.

Predictably, there was already a rumour going around the department to explain her good mood, most of her employees believing that she had a date lined up for Valentine's Day; she did nothing to discourage that particular rumour. Or as one crude, young auror had voiced, 'she was _finally_ getting some,' totally oblivious to the fact that she was in fact standing right behind him as he spoke the inappropriate words, which led to him getting a stern reprimand about his unprofessional conduct and quite possibly short future in the department.

Of course she was getting some, just not in the sexual sense her employees assumed. She was finally getting the criminal she had been after for close to a decade, along with all his murderous friends, if her plan came together as nicely as she hoped.

To make her day even better, she would soon be questioning Professor Snape. Soon all his dirty secrets would be hers, but she had that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that it wasn't going to be that easy of a task. She had originally promised the Chief Warlock that she would wait until he was there to supervise the questioning of Snape, due to the man's conflicting magical vows, but she knew she had an information goldmine in the potions professor. She wanted to mine that information all by herself. Not even her upcoming meeting with the egotistical Minister could ruin her good mood brought on by the thought of questioning one of Dumbledore's inner circle; a man she privately expected to know a lot more of the Chief Warlock's backroom dealings than the elder wizard truly realized.

It was a calculated risk on her part, but if she did manage to get something big and damaging on the Chief Warlock, she could use it to increase her department's funding in exchange for her silence on the matter.

She paused just outside the Minister's office to compose herself, before purposefully striding into the Minister's richly decorated office, which she suspected was illegally paid for with ministerial funds rather than the Minister's own gold.

She made a mental note to investigate the matter further, in fact as soon as her current case was wrapped up, since it could provide her with some additional leverage to use on the greedy, self-serving politician that was her boss. Personally she didn't like having to play the games of extortion and blackmail, but in the Ministry of Magic it was the only way to survive all the internal politics and daily backstabbing that was common practise.

The office itself was totally opposite to her own, furnished with over-the-top displays of wealth, even a new golden framed portrait of the Minister hanging from the wall, looking like some conquering hero of old. Naturally, as an experienced Ministry official she was no push over when it came to the dirty inner workings of politics, otherwise she would have been removed a long time ago from her coveted position as Head of Magical Law Enforcement and replaced with someone far more flexible and amenable to being bribed. The Minister's office said one thing to her about the man, he was weakness and greed personified. She disapprovingly eyed the golden frame.

As a matter of pragmatism, she knew that the Minister had to put on a display of power and prestige, since he was greeting and dealing with foreign ambassadors on a regular basis. But this was just _too_ much! It wasn't refined or subtle or tastefully elegant either; this lack of subtlety actually did the opposite, it _implied_ weakness, that the Minister had to overcompensate with ostentatious displays of wealth to show his importance and power, rather than just allowing his title and personal bearing to achieve the desired result with a tiny bit of staging help.

Then there was his toad-like Senior Undersecretary, someone who she personally thought had far too much power and too little oversight for her position, and the totally wrong attitude for the job. But that was standard operating procedure for the Ministry, where most of the high level people got their jobs based on connections and personal favours they or their family's held, rather than skill or personal merit. One of the main reasons she disliked Madam Umbridge so much was that the simple minded witch was often the voice encouraging the easily led Minister to create tougher anti-creature laws, due to her prejudiced beliefs concerning the inferiority of the so called 'half breeds.'

It was this kind of stupidity that she loathed most, since it would be her and her aurors that were meant to keep the delicate peace with a pitiful budget. Whilst she was willing to admit tougher rules were often a good thing, long experience told her that you also needed a carrot, an incentive to encourage people to behave, rather than just using the stick to enforce the law. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Magic was _all_ about using the stick, sometimes it seemed like that was all it knew.

Thankfully, discussing new legislation and amendments to existing law wasn't the purpose of this meeting; the Minister actually wanted an update on her department's efforts to catch Pettigrew. Once more checking herself over, she straightened out her dark red Auror robes, whilst repositioning her gold badge on her upper chest. It had the words 'Head of Law Enforcement' engraved prominently under the scales of justice.

Entering the Minister's private office, she purposefully walked over to the man's desk whilst ignoring the offered seat; she just wanted to get this meeting over and done with as quickly as possible. "You wanted to see me Minister?" She asked dryly, as she noticed the slippery Lord Malfoy sitting peacefully in the corner, faking boredom and disinterest in her, but she knew better.

"Oh yes, has there been any progress in catching that Pettigrew fellow?" Fudge asked, as she noticed the Minister's ever widening belly.

Ignoring the presence of Lord Malfoy, she gave her rehearsed response, "Yes, last night we almost caught him thanks to an anonymous tip; he barely managed to escape us this time. He escaped by shifting into his rat animagus form and fleeing into the muggle sewerage system. We tried to track him, but there were hundreds of the rats down there," she lied whilst turning her nose as if in disgust.

She now knew that Lord Malfoy had manipulated the Minister into asking these questions for him, to reveal any information his own hidden informers throughout the Ministry hadn't been able to find. "We know he's getting desperate and is running low on gold; I personally expect he'll be caught by the end of the month, unless he goes to ground."

"That's good news," the weak willed Minister proclaimed, a smile growing on his chubby face. "See Lucius, there is no need to release the dementors from their guard duties, Madam Bones here has the situation well in hand," he praised.

"Thank you Minister. If you would excuse me, I need to get back to my department," she stated, in a business-like fashion.

"Of course my dear," the Minister offered magnanimously before waving her off.

She fought the near overwhelming urge to smirk in triumph as she quickly escaped the office before she could be asked any more questions. She studiously ignored Madam Umbridge who tried to stop her, since she had no time for the Minister's lackeys, especially not today. She was a woman on a mission, a mission to bring justice and order to a lawless magical world.

**Hogwarts Library**

"Neville Longbottom must leave Hogwarts!" Dobby exclaimed to the Gryffindor, trying to make the young boy understand the danger he was in without revealing his master's evil intentions. "Hogwarts is not safe for you!"

"Tell me elf, tell me what you know, who is your master? Stop speaking in riddles!" the young Gryffindor demanded, as he fought the urge to disappear.

"Hogwarts is not safe!" he said, as he jumped up on the desk, accidentally knocking off some library books as well as a full inkwell in the process. "Bad master wants _you_ dead," the slave bond compelled that he throw himself into a bookshelf in punishment for revealing his master's intentions.

"Tell me who your master is!" the Boy-Who-Lived demanded, his voice steadily rising. "And I'll stop him."

"I can't," he said miserably, as he fought the slave bond's urging that he return to his home. "Hogwarts is not safe," he repeated once again, desperately wanting the boy to go home and be safe.

"You already told me that! Tell me something useful elf!" Neville shouted in annoyance, his voice echoing around the library.

Clicking his fingers, he faded from sight just as a scary looking witch appeared around the bookshelves, "What are you shouting about Mr. Longbottom? This is a library, not the Great Hall. What have you done to those books, you hooligan?!" Madam Prince screeched, her accusing finger pointing at the ripped and torn library books lying around the floor in the slowly spreading spilled ink.

"I didn't do it, a house elf did!" Neville protested.

"Of course, a house elf did it, and I'm a fresh flesh eating ghoul!" the enraged librarian said with a mighty dose of ridicule. "Detention this Saturday. I'll be speaking to your head of house as well to discuss additional punishment."

"I didn't do it, I swear!" Neville voiced in protest, as Dobby faded back to his home, feeling the strong need to punish himself.

**Midnight Lord**

"So you agree then?" Harry asked Daphne, the Slytherin pushing her long, blonde hair out of her eyes as he leaned against a teacher's desk, in an old, disused classroom. The school was practically littered with these abandoned classrooms, showing just how far magical Britain had fallen.

A predatory smile appeared on Daphne's features, one that told him there would most certainly be a price for her assistance, but he expected no less from her. "Yes, but I require a favour in return."

He gave his own smile, "Naturally. I never expected you to do it for free, but what did you have in mind then?"

"I don't know yet, give a girl some time to think," she countered with a huff.

Knowing that he really shouldn't agree to anything without some idea what he was agreeing to, he was confident that Daphne's favour wouldn't be too demanding. She knew how the game of favors was played. "Fine," he sighed in agreement, grateful that his friend had agreed to be his eyes and ears within the school whilst he was 'gone.'

"Are you going to tell Padma?" Daphne asked, as he moved to leave the abandoned classroom.

He hesitated a second before giving his answer. "No."

"Any reason why? She is _your _best friend after all," Daphne pushed, trying to understand his decision.

It took him a moment to realize Daphne's game; she wanted to know where she ranked within Harry's group of friends. "Padma, whilst she is a very good friend, can't lie all that well. Someone will figure it out, probably her twin, Parvati. She, in turn, will spill the beans to Lavender, and from there the whole school knows. Plus her reaction to my 'death' needs to be realistic, genuine distress would be ideal if this whole thing is to be believed," he explained to Daphne. "Unlike you, I trust you can both keep this secret as well as not give away that it's all staged by your reaction. With your cold persona, no one will question your lack of emotions in public."

"That means you won't be telling Tracy either, or Blaise for that matter," she noted to herself.

He took a moment to consider his reply and how he viewed his relationship with Blaise, "No, I won't. Blaise is your ally and betrothed Daphne, not mine. Whilst he has become more moderate and less outspoken in his more prejudiced views, he still hasn't made any real effort to win me over. Nor do I see any advantage trying to change our relationship. We're like two different species of predators, both inhabiting a common territory of mutual interest, but with no personal interest in the other."

Just as he was leaving the classroom to get on with his busy day, she responded. "That's an interesting way to describe me," Daphne voiced smugly. He didn't even need to look back at her to know there was a smirk on her face.

"I was actually talking about Pansy," he voiced innocently, despite having a smile on his face.

"You twat!" she spat back, realizing his attempt at humour.

"So what are you and Blaise doing for Valentine's Day?" he asked.

"Nothing to my knowledge," she declared with an annoyed huff. "You would think he would at least make an attempt to charm me, contract or not. We're still in an early stage after all."

"Maybe it's a surprise?" Harry offered.

"I would know if _that_ was the case. Blaise is a terrible liar," she countered, before the pair of them fell into a comfortable silence as they walked through the school halls towards the great hall.

Upon entering the great hall the pair separated to go to their individual tables, but he was intercepted by Professor Sprout before he could sit down in his usual place. "Mr. Potter, here are a couple more names of former students I thought might be of interest to you," the head of Hufflepuff offered, before handing him a small piece of parchment.

It took him a few seconds to remember what the head of Hufflepuff was talking about, before he gratefully accepted the piece of parchment. "Thank you professor, anyone of interest?" he asked, while ignoring the stares from his fellow students.

"Mr. Culpin and Miss Tilly, but the headmaster recommended Mr. Birchwood," she offered back with a smile.

As soon as he heard the title 'headmaster' he instantly became suspicious, whilst speculating how the headmaster had found out about his request. He then remembered the head of Hufflepuff had mentioned it during an earlier staff meeting, a meeting he was fortunate enough to be spying on through the enchanted mirrors. "The headmaster recommended Mr. Birchwood? I wasn't aware that he even knew I was _looking_ for qualified herbology experts?" He asked, while giving the head of Hufflepuff a stern look.

His pointed question caused the professor to shuffle awkwardly, with a hint of embarrassment on her puffy features, "I may have mentioned it over dinner," she answered back.

He didn't challenge her on the lie, but just nodded his head while looking at the short list of names. "Oh, how thoughtful of him to take an interest in my private family affairs... Anyone else he mentioned?" Harry probed.

"A couple actually, Mrs. Atkinson and Mr. Millar as well," Professor Sprout answered back with her trademark easy going, carefree smile.

"I'll be sure to give them _extra _consideration, especially with the headmaster's own recommendation," he replied evenly, knowing that even in the unlikely event that he did hire them, he would take extra security measures against them.

After all, he had no desire for the headmaster to be interfering in his affairs, or having informal informers within his businesses, but he also didn't like the idea of wasting talent either, simply because of an as yet unknown connection with the headmaster. If they were truly talented and hard working and better than the other candidates, there was no reason why he shouldn't employ them. He would just have to make sure that their magically binding employment contracts prevented them from discussing any business related matters with non-employees.

"Happy to help Mr. Potter, now if you would excuse me, I have a class to prepare for," the herbology professor voiced, before leaving the great hall. With their discussion concluded, he took his place at the Ravenclaw table. No sooner had he sat down to begin his lunch that the first question was launched his way by an overly curious year mate.

"Hey Potter, what was that all about?" Anthony Goldstein asked from up the table.

"Just an inquiry I made," he replied, but offering no more on the private matter.

**Midnight Lord**

**Wednesday – Midday**

The day had been passing tediously slowly for one Severus Snape, with nothing but an outdated magazine on women's beauty products to read while he waited for Madam Bones to finally arrive and begin her questioning. He knew what they were doing. They were sweating him, trying to get under his skin by keeping him waiting rather than just questioning him right away, and truth be told, it was working to a point.

Privately he expected all this was a great bluff by Albus, since he knew many of the aging wizard's secrets, but unfortunately those secrets were not destructive in nature. The question really was why the headmaster was willing to leave him exposed to the long arm of the law? He knew the aging wizard had some hidden motive, he always did, but he just didn't know what. Did Albus plan to hand him to the she-wolf Madam Bones as a gift, a peace offering? Or did the aging wizard plan to come in on his high and mighty horse and save him at the last moment, just to prove he had the power and ability to do so? Or did the old wizard plan on discarding him now that he was too much of a headache? Or did he just want to give Madam Bones information without intentionally being seen as doing so? Or did he want Madam Bones to get enough dirt on him so that he could be charged, just for Albus to step in, get him back and reassert control, under his protection?

It didn't really matter what the old man's motives were, it didn't change the fact that he was in hot water and he had to find some way out of it or potentially be boiled alive. So the simple question now was what to do?

Regrettably, it didn't take him long to realize that his options were extremely limited, with only the secrets he knew being worth anything. The true question was, who was he loyal to? Should he stay loyal to Lucius and take the fall with his overly ambitious friend and spend the rest of his life in a jail cell? Or should he submit to the headmaster's will and do has as the elderly wizard had instructed and start talking? Or should he just look out for himself and make a new path, one of his own making? After a long while considering his uncomfortable position, he finally decided he would have to cut a deal. When it came down to it, if this was going to be a mass purge, a mass round up of uncharged death eaters, he knew deep down that they would all look out only for themselves, sacrificing each other for any chance at maintaining their own freedom. There was no loyalty, just self-interest.

With Lucius living on borrowed time, and Dumbledore selling him out, it was time to look out for himself, and try to escape all the chains in his life.

With his decision finally made, he confidently walked across the room and opened the kitchen door to confront his guards. "Tell Madam Bones that I'm willing to make a deal," he voiced dispassionately, but firmly, the two guards looking up from the game of cards they were playing.

"She'll be pleased to hear that," the male auror replied with a smug smirk. "Anything particular I should tell her?"

"No, nothing I'll share with you anyways. I don't deal with middlemen," Snape voiced, before turning on his heel and leaving the kitchen and returning to his chair. Back in his seat, he went over his pitch, his plan of action, what he would say, what specifically he would be willing to share with the head of law enforcement to gain his freedom. 'Any moment now' he told himself, expecting Madam Bones to come marching in straight through the door to start his questioning, to pressure him into talking, where he would naturally stall, misdirect and obfuscate, before she would finally tire of the game and decide to make a deal with him instead.

'Any minute now,' he told himself, as he puffed himself up, ready to play the game of captive and interrogator.

Unfortunately he found that he was wrong, he was very wrong, as time slowly ticked by. Excruciating boredom soon set in with no sign of the head of law enforcement turning up to question him. He knew what was going on, what game Madam Bones was playing with him. She was intentionally making the simple point that she was the one in control of the interrogation, not him, and that he could and would be questioned at her leisure, rather than his own. The goal obviously being to try and keep him off balance, and uncomfortable. It was working.

Another hour passed before Madam Bones finally joined him in the front room, accompanied by two aurors, who undoubtedly were there to act as official witnesses, as well as to restrain him if he did anything stupid. Unlike when he usually saw her, this time Madam Bones had a spring in her step, a certain bounce that reminded him of a carefree school girl, rather than the normally grim faced head of law enforcement officer. 'Good,' he mentally voiced, knowing that it would make this meeting easier.

"Good afternoon Professor Snape, I trust that you are having a pleasant stay with us?" His interrogator voiced lightly while taking the seat opposite him.

"I have been better, can't say much for the reading material on the other hand," he voiced as he waved his hand over the discarded magazine.

An amused smile grew on her face at his remarks, "You should have asked for something else to read then," Madam Bones observed, as the pair of aurors behind her chuckled at their leader's answer. He knew he would never have asked, or even taken up the offer with what little remained of his pride on the line. "Now that the pleasantries have been exchanged, let's cut to the chase shall we? You want to make a deal to escape a lengthy prison sentence, but the question is, is your information good enough to be worth it?"

"I assure you Madam Bones, the information I have is far more impressive than your other lowly informant," he voiced with a hint of smugness.

"I would say the information that my other informant has provided me with so far has been plenty impressive," she answered back airily, making it clear to him that he couldn't just give her little things of no real consequence as he'd originally planned. Big secrets would be needed if he had any hope to retain his freedom.

"I know _many_ things. In my role as the Chief Warlock's spy within the death eater ranks I was in an ideal position to gather huge amounts of information," he offered, even as Madam Bones' lips curled in disgust.

"That's the thing, I know you _weren't_ Dumbledore's righteous, self sacrificing spy, as he claimed, during the days after You-Know-Who's downfall," she voiced, giving him a firm probing look, before continuing with a shark-like smile. "Otherwise, the men _you_ betrayed would have killed you a long time ago for betraying them, for selling them out. I'm thinking _you_ were a willing death eater, one who was sent by You-Know-Who to infiltrate Hogwarts under the cover of being the new potions master, with orders to spy upon the Headmaster and his Order of the Phoenix. But to get the information you desired, you had to win the old man's trust somehow. And since the war was going so badly for us, the Headmaster accepted, despite any doubts he had of your loyalty, simply desperate for any scrap of information he could use. And, in turn, you bargained for his protection as payment, in case your true master was defeated by some unexpected miracle," he resisted the urge to shuffle at her almost correct assumption. "This ensured you remained safe and free regardless of who won."

"That is an interesting assumption," he replied dryly, faking disinterest in her words, but his inner confidence was falling sharply.

A small smile appeared on Madam Bones' features, before she continued, "Indeed, but I'm wondering why he has kept you around as Hogwarts' potions master for so long. You're hardly an ideal teacher, and there have been so many, many complaints against you and your conduct. At one point I thought it was due to your harsh teaching methods achieving excellent academic results that justified your placement, but then I checked the exams results. Each year the numbers of students taking potions at NEWT level has decreased to an all time low," the head of law enforcement voiced. "Then I considered that it might be your good friend Lord Malfoy's doing, but I dismissed that idea rather quickly. He may be influential, but I know he doesn't have the requisite influence necessary to secure your position as potions master if the headmaster really wanted you replaced. That was tested and confirmed after young Mr. Potter came to see me last summer asking for legal advice, considering your illegal uses of legillimency."

He decided to remain silent for now, rather than deny or confirm her guess work, before Madam Bones continued her assessment. "I think you are of some yet unknown use to Dumbledore. The only reason I can think of is that you are his spy and agent for monitoring your former associates, like Lucius. And with your former friends soon to be facing imprisonment, you are no longer useful or needed; hence why he has withdrawn his protection and given you over to me as a peace offering of sorts."

"That has _some_ truth to it," he offered back with an annoyed sigh. "I'd much rather be doing other things than teaching ungrateful and untalented fools, potions."

"I can imagine that; you don't strike me as the caring type," she voiced bluntly.

"I am you know, I am the caring type, I just don't care for teaching ungrateful misbehaving snot nosed brats," he countered with a huff.

"Really? I have serious doubts about that, but we're getting sidetracked," she announced firmly, before pulling from her robe pocket a small vial containing a crystal clear liquid he immediately recognised as extremely high grade veritaserum, commonly known as truth serum by the uneducated masses of the magical world.

Veritaserum forced the dosed individual to speak the truth, but a smart, educated person, trained and proficient in the mind arts like himself, could resist its effects partially and speak half truths. In short, one could carefully edit one's own responses and tell half truths as long as they weren't outright lies. Even then it could only force the individual to speak the truth, or what one believed the truth to be, so you could lie unintentionally.

In a nutshell, it was a very useful and powerful potion, but much more so if used in the hands of a skilled interrogator aware of its limitations, which he fully expected Madam Bones to be. Naturally, like any type of magic or potion around for long enough, there were means to counter and weaken the effects of the potion, if one was prepared in advance. Cruder methods of countering Vveritaserum were to remove the incriminating memories from one's own mind and then planting false ones in their place, but that wasn't foolproof by any means, and the signs could be spotted easily by trained interrogators. And, unfortunately, extensive use of these mental methods could drive individuals insane if not done with the appropriate care. The mind was a delicate thing and these modifications were far more than complex than the simple obliviations that the Ministry doled out to the muggles like they were candy. A far more subtle and elegant method was in consuming certain ingredients and foods in advance, to counter the potion's effects in the run up to exposure. Unfortunately, this little piece of information was well known to countless magical governments and law enforcement agencies, and was dealt with easily by carefully controlling diets prior to the interrogation, or with a purging potion. That potion forced any non natural compounds out of the person's body, purifying it.

Unfortunately, none of these options were available to him and his food had been carefully selected and eating monitored while detained. He then remembered the headmaster's advice about using 'conflicting oaths' as a reason to avoid answering certain questions. "I wouldn't advise using that Madam," gesturing towards the vial of veritaserum. "The magical oaths I've been forced to take in the past may result in my death." He replied, knowing that his words were complete rubbish.

"I seriously doubt that, even though the headmaster tells the exact same lie," she answered back coldly, catching his big white lie. "Mr. Pettigrew was fine, and it worked perfectly well on other past death eaters."

"Do you want to take that chance? Especially when I'm already willing to cooperate with your ongoing investigation," he asked the stern faced woman.

"What is it you can offer? And what is you want in return for your cooperation?" she asked.

"I can tell you the finer details that Pettigrew simply can't offer you. As for what I want, I just want my freedom," he offered plainly.

"How about you tell me how you persuaded the headmaster you could be trusted as a spy?" she countered as he shuffled uncomfortably.

"That's between him and me; but a magical oath was involved to prove that I could be trusted," he replied emotionlessly, but his stomach was turning in knots at the memory of Lily, despite his best efforts to keep his emotions under control. "The short version is a woman I loved found herself at the wrong end of You-Know-Who's attention, the type of attention that gets you killed. After that I started spying for the headmaster, while paying the role of double spy. You-Know-Who got bits and pieces of carefully chosen information, enough to validate my loyalty and continued usefulness to him, but not enough to truly damage the Order or its members. Of course, I had no idea that Peter was a spy, so my efforts didn't help much in that regard."

"Interesting," she muttered thoughtfully to herself, before looking at him again, her stare piercing, as if she was looking into his very soul. "Did this woman survive the war?"

"No, unfortunately she was killed in the closing days of the war by You-Know-Who's followers, despite my best efforts to keep her safe," he answered emotionlessly, but with a hint of bitterness, as he edited his answer on the fly rather than risk revealing just who he loved to the Aurors, even as he fought to restrain the raging emotions rebelling inside of him.

"Why was You-Know-Who after this _love_ of yours then?" she asked, while placing the potion vial to rest on the tea table next to her seat.

He didn't know how to answer that question, at least not without revealing some shocking secrets, but it suddenly occurred to him that those secrets could ensure his freedom and win over Madam Bones' protection and trust, to a point. "Because she was a danger to him," he answered back calmly, realizing he was starting to assert a measure of control over the meeting as Madam Bones' one good eye widened in disbelief, while the two aurors accompanying her started to mutter between themselves in disbelief. Not that he blamed them for their doubts, he would be sceptical too if he was in their position.

Madam Bones took a couple of seconds to recover her wits before replying to his shocking remark, "I find that rather hard to believe. You-Know-Who was the most powerful dark wizard in centuries after all."

"I know it's hard to believe, but You-Know-Who did consider her a real threat to him," he answered back patiently, not surprised at her reluctance to believe him. "If you want to know more, please ask your companions here to leave. This information is highly sensitive and is why the Chief Warlock trusts me," He added. "It is also the reason why the Chief Warlock protects me, and why I shouldn't be arrested and put on trial. Especially, when I'm fully cooperating with you and have already taken the huge personal risk of being a spy for the Chief Warlock."

"That's a bold claim," Madam Bones challenged.

"But an accurate one," he answered back with growing confidence before adding. "It also helps explain the headmaster's actions and motives in recent years, which I'm sure you'll find extremely useful."

The next couple of minutes passed in total silence as Madam Bones considered his words and request. "Leave us," she ordered. The pair of aurors grumbled in protest before their boss sent them a dangerous look that said 'Now, or else.' After the two disgruntled aurors had left the room, she turned back to face him. "You better not be messing me about, I don't take kindly to having my time wasted," she warned, sending him a warning look with her one good eye.

"I would never dream of it," he voiced smoothly, but truthfully, since he had no desire to go to jail, and avoiding that fate relied solely on Madam Bones' good graces. "It was not _she_ that was You-Know-Who's primary target, but her newborn child."

"What do you mean by that? Why would You-Know-Who be interested in a newborn?" she asked.

He took a deep breath before replying to her question, "There was a prophecy, that foretold of You-Know-Who's possible downfall and/or defeat," he told her emotionlessly, as he remembered the news of Lily's murder. "The prophecy spoke of an individual that had the potential to defeat Lord Voldemort, However there were several candidates that fit the terribly ambiguous specifications of the prophecy. Of course, somehow, Lord Voldemort found out about the prophecy's existence and his possible defeat," he explained, keeping quiet about his own involvement. "He then moved into action to kill these chosen children before they could become a real threat. However, he did not have the full wording of the prophecy, so by acting on it, he inadvertently set the prophecy into motion. If he had left those harmless children alone, deciding that divination was utter rubbish, the prophecy would have likely been void."

"Neville Longbottom," she finished for him, before giving him a curious look.

He neatly folded his hands on his lap, "Indeed. He was _one_ of the possible candidates that fit the prophecy," he confirmed with an approving nod.

"Do you have any proof of this prophecy? How do I know this is not some overly elaborate story you cooked up to save your own arse?" she asked, just like he expected she would.

"The Hall of Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries has a copy, of course," he answered back calmly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He knew that the head of law enforcement would verify this the moment his questioning ended. "I think _you_ should check it out and see that I am indeed telling the truth and fully cooperating with you. But there is more, much more," a knowing smile emerged on his features.

"I think I'll do that," she replied, while getting up from her seat, before suddenly adding. "But I still don't see why _you_ shouldn't stand trial for what you did during your time serving You-Know-Who willingly, before you defected and turned spy. Of course that fact would be taken into account when you were sentenced."

His smile didn't disappear, but instead grew at her words, "Who said You-Know-Who is dead?" he asked the shocked head of law enforcement, privately enjoying her expression even as he held up his right arm and pulled down his black robe sleeve to reveal the faded dark mark. "He is still out there, somewhere, we can still feel him," he admitted, as the colour drained from Madam Bones' face and fear grew in her eyes. "The dark mark beats like a pulse, a heartbeat. The stronger he is, the darker the mark becomes. It has been growing stronger of late, much stronger," all the colour drained from Madam Bones' face at this, the head of law enforcement turning sickly white like a ghost.

"This is another reason why the Chief Warlock keeps me close at hand, so that I can relay any changes in the dark mark's status, to warn him. We have expected for a long time that Lord Voldemort put safeguards in place to prevent his death, but we didn't have any real evidence until last year. If I stand trial Madam Bones that knowledge of how he is alive will spread, hastening his return to full power. Loyal death eaters that remained out of prison will rally to him, some out of loyalty, others out of fear, others out of self interest, and others out of the empty promise of power and riches. Then that long forgotten dark magic Lord Voldemort used to cheat death will come out and spread like a wild fire. Before you know it, you will have hundreds of dark wizards and witches using the same forbidden and near forgotten magics to cheat death. You will also have to deal with mass panic. So is my freedom too much of a price to ask for my silence in this serious matter?" he smugly asked.

He realized too late that he had oversold it and had stepped well over the mark, as a spell rocketed towards him with pin point accuracy tying him to the chair, with his limbs going numb and nonresponsive with how tightly he was being held. Before he could even sputter a curse, Madam Bones was already standing over him with a potion vial in hand.

"It's time we had a good _long_ talk then," she announced, before pouring the vial's contents into his mouth, the potion's magical effects immediately overcoming him.

"Is Lord Voldemort alive?" she asked, not even bothering with the test questions in her rush to get answers.

He fought the urge to reply, he reminded himself that the dark lord's true name was Tom Riddle, but veritaserum forced him to answer the question anyways, the truth quickly spilling from his tongue. "Yes, to a point," he replied in a monotone.

"How is Lord Voldemort still alive?" she pressed quickly.

"He made a magical device called a horcrux," he answered in the same empty tone.

"What is a horcrux?" the head of law enforcement asked.

**Midnight Lord**

**Bones Manor **

Madam Bones dropped herself into her office's armchair before quickly pouring herself a large helping of extra strong firewhiskey before downing it in a single gulp, the day's shocking events lying heavily on her mind.

Already she had taken a calming draught to quiet her raging nerves and rising fears, as she considered the nightmarish truth of the situation. You-Know-Who, the most feared dark wizard of recent times was _still_ _alive_, and was currently wandering the dark forests of Eastern Europe as a disembodied shade, desperately trying to find a way back to a body of its own. Her troubled mind turned towards the horcrux diary that had been found in the possession of Miss Weasley, a shiver of dread running down her spine at the thought of her own precious niece falling prey to such a malevolent creation. She was still reeling from the even more shocking truth of the previous school year, when she had learned how the fallen dark lord had already infiltrated Hogwarts in an attempt to steal the philosopher's stone, only to be stopped at the last second.

To make matters even worse, the dark wizard had made multiple horcruxes to prevent his death, thus anchoring him to the living world, if Professor Snape and the headmaster's theories were true. And as much as she hated to admit her own ignorance, she knew that the Chief Warlock was far more qualified in this matter than her, and was probably correct in his assessment.

Then there was that cursed prophecy to consider that stated that Neville Longbottom was the only one capable of defeating the dark wizard, which complicated matters even more. Personally, she held no love for the subject of divination, but she knew well enough that that branch of magic was very real and that true prophecies existed. It also explained the Chief Warlock's unusual interest in the Boy-Who-Lived, and why he maintained such a strong political alliance with Lady Longbottom despite their often opposing political ideologies. 'Did lady Longbottom know of the prophecy?' she asked herself, or had the Chief Warlock kept that knowledge to himself? If that was the case, she wondered if she could use the knowledge to strengthen her position with the Lady Longbottom. The knowledge of the prophecy also explained the elderly wizard's interest in Mr. Potter, who was the other candidate the prophecy could have applied to, or as Professor Snape so elegantly put it, he was the 'spare saviour.' At least that bit of information would be valuable, since she was sure that Sirius and Harry would be interested in knowing about the Chief Warlock's plans for Harry, the existence of the prophecy at all, and why the dark lord had wanted to kill Harry and his parents, as well as the shocking knowledge that Lord Voldemort was still alive. She poured herself another good sized glass of firewhisky at that lengthy list.

But sharing that dangerous bit of knowledge could wait until the currently unfolding drama was sorted and done with. She knew that she couldn't share the knowledge of You-know-Who still being alive with the corrupt minister, as it would undoubtedly leak and cause a mass panic amongst the populace, and could very well hasten the dark lord's return if his followers began to assist him in getting a new body. Professor Snape and the headmaster both believed that would happen if they knew their master was currently alive. She knew what she had to do; but ultimately the only thing she _could_ do was to keep her silence and prepare the best she could for the inevitable dark times to return. When the time was right, though, she would approach the Chief Warlock demanding answers. She would also have to keep a closer eye on Hogwarts for the foreseeable future. She considered possibly striking a deal with the aging headmaster by loaning him one of her aurors to the fill the role of Defence against the Dark Arts professor on a yearly basis. Perhaps that would keep the curse from affecting them? Why the old man hadn't hired the best cursebreaking teams the goblins had to remove it long ago was truly beyond her.

**Hogwarts**

Harry moved silently through the school's halls, the silencing charms on his leather boots helping him to avoid attracting unwanted attention as he slipped in and out of numerous side passages as he steadily made his way to the headmaster's office. He had decided against telling his cousin in the end, since her reaction had to be as real as possible, believable and genuine were required, despite his ill feelings about keeping the truth from her. Unfortunately, it was a necessary evil to help maintain the illusion of his poisoning and murder at Pettigrew's hands. Lord Malfoy would be tipped off if anything didn't line up exactly as he expected.

Muttering the password to the headmaster's office, the two stone gargoyles moved to one side granting him access to the moving stairwell.

There was no need to knock since he was already expected by the headmaster, plus he suspected the headmaster had some type of identification ward over the door, which had likely announced his arrival in advance. He confidently walked into the ancient office like he belonged there.

"Good evening headmaster," he offered politely in greeting, as he quickly looked around the office, his eyes resting on the golden, fiery phoenix resting proudly on its ornate stand, whilst wondering where his godfather was, since Sirius was meant to be collecting him from the headmaster's office.

"Good evening Mr. Potter, please have seat," the headmaster offered while gesturing towards the free chair, for once foregoing offering him a sweet. That immediately had alarms ringing in his mind.

"Where is my godfather?" he asked, focusing his attention on the headmaster.

"Sirius will be along in a couple of minutes, he has probably been delayed, or is simply running a little late," Dumbledore offered with an easygoing smile, which instinctively set him on guard. "I thought that we could use this free time to talk about your official letter of complaint that you submitted the other day to Professor McGonagall."

"There is nothing to talk about," Harry shot back in annoyance. "The letter speaks for itself, there is no need for me to explain it or discuss it... And furthermore, that letter was from the Lord Black, not me, and thus it would be entirely inappropriate to discuss it with me. You _should_ be talking with him only."

"Come now Mr. Potter, let's talk about this like adults, rather than petty children," Dumbledore pushed, not dropping the subject.

He saw red at the headmaster's remarks, "There is nothing you can say in your defence, as far as I'm concerned. You intentionally let slip that I was an animagus to the entire Great Hall. That is knowledge that is far too personal to share around like common gossip," Harry spat, his anger starting to get the better of him despite his best efforts. "An animagus form is an intrinsically personal thing, it is a reflection of the wizard's very soul; it should have been up to me and me alone who I shared that knowledge with, but you ripped that choice away from me with your little stunt with Professor Snape."

"I didn't force you to show your animagus form in the middle of the Great Hall Harry, you could have simply denied that you were an animagus," the aged headmaster countered with a toying smile.

He knew that he was being a hypocrite, of sorts. After all, he was in the middle of setting up his own minor surveillance network around the school, but his intention wasn't to do harm with it, unless it was to strike at an enemy. At the moment he was just testing out the theory, seeing if the idea could be deployed in the wider world by either himself or through his agent Rita. It was like beta testing a product or design prior to wide release in order to identify and eliminate the inevitable bugs before committing larger resources and time to develop the product. If it worked he had big plans on how to create an even wider network of surveillance around Britain.

"Don't call me that, it's Mr. Potter to _you_," Harry snapped back. "Of course I had to show it, otherwise I would have been called a liar and a fraud when the knowledge came out eventually, damaging my reputation, my family name, and my creditability for years to come, which you know all too well being a politician of your experience," he gave the headmaster a hate filled look. "And this was not the first offense against me; you do remember what Professor Snape did to me last year? You and your staff have invaded and disregarded my basic right to privacy several times now. _Enough is enough_. It's getting to the point that I'm questioning my continued attendance at Hogwarts," several of the magical portraits muttered quietly in agreement.

However before either he or the headmaster could continue their heated exchange, the office's fireplace suddenly changed colour, shifting from red to an acid green, announcing an incoming floo connection, the headmaster suddenly frowning.

"It seems that Sirius is early," the headmaster muttered as his godfather appeared from the fireplace.

"Good, you're already here pup, that saves us some time," Sirius announced as he looked around the room before turning to the headmaster. "Have the preparations been made?"

Sirius' question caught the headmaster completely off guard, before the elderly wizard regrouped. "Everything is set Sirius, we just need some fresh hair samples from Harry here for his auror replacement to use while he's away," the aged wizard replied, as he waved his hand towards Harry.

"Good," Sirius nodded, his wand appearing in hand and quickly cutting a lock of hair off Harry's head.

"Hey!" Harry protested in annoyance, as a lock of hairs fell to the floor which his godfather readily scooped up.

"Here," Sirius stated, placing the dark long hairs onto the desk. "I expect anything leftover to be immediately returned to us when this is done with. Come on Harry, it's time for us to go," Sirius giving the headmaster a firm look.

"What about my stuff?" Harry asked, thrown off balance by Sirius' hurried actions, his godfather directing him towards the fireplace.

"The house elves will transfer your belongings to number 12 as soon as your death has been faked, and the headmaster gives the order," Sirius quickly answered before the headmaster could say anything else.

The next thing he knew he was standing in the living room of Number 12, the fireplace still glowing a bright eerie green as his godfather stepped through a couple moments later. "What was that all about?" he demanded, his annoyance and anger leaking into his words at being manhandled so roughly by his godfather.

"Phineas told me what was going on, so naturally I came to your rescue," Sirius answered with a smug smirk.

"I thought the former headmaster portraits couldn't share anything they heard within the headmaster's private office?" Harry asked in confusion, remembering that Sirius had the former Hogwarts' headmaster portrait hanging in his private study, so that he could take advantage of the previous Lord Black's extensive experience and potent political insight.

"He didn't share anything directly, not really, he just told me that the headmaster was speaking to you," Sirius explained. "Phineas can't share any knowledge or secrets he hears within the headmaster's office, but he can tip me off in a general sense if something is afoot, if he chooses to that is. He couldn't tell me what Dumbledore was actually up to, but he made it clear that I should make haste," Harry nodded in understanding. That was a fine distinction. "Phineas may think less of you due to your being a half blood, but you're a Black, and my heir, the future of the family will rest in your hands in time. And as far as he is concerned, despite his misgivings over your blood status, Blacks watch out for Blacks first and foremost. Family first, everyone else second, was the way he lived and so do I. So he'll be keeping an eye on you since you are family."

He considered Sirius' words on Phineas' philosophy and found he quite agreed with the idea. The idea that family came first, above all else, resonated deeply within him. It certainly fit his own worldview. He was out in the world for himself and his family, everyone else was second to that. "I think I should go and thank him then, after all it would be for the best to show my genuine appreciation," Harry expressed thoughtfully. Sirius nodded in agreement at this wise course of action.

**Hogwarts**

Daphne followed her usual morning routine like it was any other day of the week, doing her utmost to act completely natural or perhaps as normal as possible, despite the knowledge that one of her few, true friends, was going to be faking his death today. A part of her was touched by the fact that Harry trusted her enough to share the knowledge of the plot with her, but she also knew it wasn't a blind trust. It was a calculated, logical trust, just like Harry himself. She hadn't even shared the information with her family, choosing to hold her tongue on this matter for the time being.

Clipping her silky blonde hair back with her silver hairclips, she looked over at her half dressed friend, who was busy getting herself ready for the day ahead. "You should wake up earlier Tracy, that way you wouldn't have to rush about every morning," she advised evenly, for perhaps the hundredth time.

"I like my beauty sleep Daphne, there is nothing quite like a warm bed," Tracy replied sleepily, as she continued to get dressed.

She didn't bother to reply to her best friend's remarks; they had had this same or similar discussion hundreds of times since they started sharing a dorm room together in their first year, with her being the early bird out of the pair, while Tracy was most certainly the night owl.

Checking herself over within her glamour mirror, she nitpicked at her appearance, making minor, but necessary adjustments to her school robes to assure her appearance was picture perfect. Appearance was important; it was one of the very first lessons her mother had taught her as a child, quickly followed by her father explaining how appearance was important in either daily matters or political dealings. She used a hair straightening charm on her hair, removing any hints of curls. Curls were babyish as far as she was concerned, and made her seem more like a porcelain baby doll than what a woman should look like, and curls always made her think of the dim witted Lavender Brown.

Truth be told, she didn't understand at all why Harry was even friends with Lavender Brown in the first place, since she was totally opposite to him in character and didn't appear to offer any advantages in terms of friendship. The Brown family, despite being pureblood, weren't wealthy or influential anymore, with only a couple of minor holdings to their family name, making it highly unlikely that Harry was friends with her due to business interests. Considering the matter for a couple more seconds, she was still at a loss, and concluded that she would have to ask him about it someday. She placed the final hairclip into place.

Finally satisfied with her appearance, she collected her school things, now ready to start the new school day and surprisingly eager to watch the upcoming drama.

"Are you ready Tracy?" she asked her friend, her book bag hanging fashionably from her shoulder.

"Give me a couple more minutes," Tracy voiced from the small bathroom they shared.

"I'll be waiting in the common room for you," she responded, while shaking her head in disapproval at her friend's behaviour, before leaving their shared dorm room. Despite Tracy's disorganized behaviour, she was an acceptable roommate, one who understood the need for personal boundaries and space and was considerate enough to bend and flex as the situation required.

As she walked into the common room she wondered if Blaise had even bothered to get her something for Valentine's Day, even as she took a free seat to one side of the room. The seat she had chosen was a deliberate choice, since it allowed her to watch the comings and goings of the other students without intentionally appearing to do so, which suited her just fine. It was all a part of the great game that Slytherin house played every minute of every day within the school, the game of power and advantage, which would train them for the wider world where the stakes really mattered. In this situation being a lowly second year worked to her advantage, as due to her age, most people simply overlooked and dismissed her, allowing her to watch and learn without interference or people going on their guard.

Just like every other morning, Tracy wasn't just 'another couple of minutes,' but instead took a good ten minutes or so to get ready like usual. However it gave Daphne some time to think and consider her upcoming school day.

She personally predicted that most of their day's lessons would end up cancelled, as soon as Harry would have been 'murdered.' Not that she would mind her lessons being cancelled today, since she had some homework still to do. It would also get her out of astronomy lessons that evening, which she always loathed due to it upsetting her natural sleep cycle. To be fair, the teacher and the subject material itself was fine, better than most subjects taught in the school actually, it was only the late hours she disliked, and the unnecessary exposure to the elements, especially in the bitterly cold winter months.

Finally with her disorganised roommate joining her, the pair of them left the dungeon common room to start their day. Just like usual they fell into polite conversation as they walked the school halls, but talking about nothing personal that could be potentially eavesdropped upon and used against them. It was a good philosophy to assume that any conversation taking place outside of a locked, thoroughly searched, and warded room should be considered public knowledge.

As they walked, their friendly conversation was suddenly ended at the unexpected and hideous sight of a half naked dwarf, wandering round the corridors in a glorified diaper, with a pair of white feathered wings attached to his back. Wings which were clearly charmed to beat in time with his steps, a small pink bow rested in his off hand, with a love heart shaped quiver on the man's shoulder.

The pair of them watched in stunned silence as the dwarf cupid passed them by, before they just looked at each other, their faces both screaming, 'What the hell?'

Moving on for the sake of their sanity, she looked over to her friend, "That was just cheesy," Daphne voiced.

"I wonder if the Great Hall will be pink too?" Tracy asked aloud, as the pair of them climbed a set of moving stairs.

"I certainly hope not," she replied dryly.

Pink was one of the few colours she actively disliked. It was far too girly for her tastes and reminded her again of people like Lavender Brown. So the idea of the Great Hall being covered with over the top baby pink was like a horrible nightmare to her. Then there was the fact that she was rather conservative with her affections, not approving of over-the-top displays of affection in a public setting.

However, luck was not on her side, the school halls becoming increasingly pink and bubbly as Valentine's Day decorations started to cover the ancient stone walls, with heart shaped balloons hanging in the air. She felt a growing sense of dread.

'Maybe Harry had the right idea,' she noted warily, as more dwarves dressed up as cupids walked past them.

Resisting the strong urge to turn her nose up in disgust, one of the dwarves puffed on his wooden smoking pipe, as a rough, heavy, smoky smell assaulted her nose, causing her to cough and sputter in disgust at exhaling the thick black smoke. She waved the air clear with her hands.

"That's disgusting," she expressed, now waving her wand as she cast an air freshening charm to remove the foul stench from the air, before it could taint her clothes.

"Yup, I doubt I'll ever look at cupids the same way ever again," Tracy voiced in agreement with a slight frown. "Or dwarves for that matter, I thought their race was meant to be prideful."

"They must be outcasts, discarded by their clans and exiled to the surface world," Daphne offered thoughtfully, trying to remember more on the dwarven culture.

Dwarf clans were a mighty, proud race of warriors, who loved their drink and song and prodigious wealth. Dwarves were actually an awfully rare sight in Great Britain, ever since they had been driven from the island several centuries ago after losing several long, bloody wars against the goblins.

From the first day the two species collided, the two races had been at each other's throats; to the point that both sides regarded the other as their most hated foe, a foe to be crushed into submission without any mercy or pity. Most dwarves were short, much like their goblin foes, maybe only 4 to 5 foot tall on average, but they had a very sturdy build to them, making them very resilient in a fight, unlike the goblins who were lanky and thin, whose main strength came from their ability to field overwhelming numbers on the battlefield.

Reaching the giant doors leading into the great hall, pink and red heart shaped balloons filled the air, with various messages of love written upon them. She gave Tracy a look, who just grinned right back at her.

"Whatever you may think of Lockhart, you've got to give him an O for effort, even if it is a bit tacky," Tracy voiced.

"No, I don't," Daphne countered quickly with a huff. "The house elves probably did most of the work."

"Stop being so bitter Daphne, you're just annoyed with Blaise's lack of effort," Tracy argued, as she stepped into the redecorated great hall.

"Blaise's lack of effort has absolutely nothing to do with this," she huffed back, before following her friend.

The great hall was even more shocking than the entrance hall, with Valentine's Day decorations covering the walls and ceiling to the point that even the house banners had been altered and changed.

Slytherin's green and silver banner had been changed to pink and white, with the trademark snake now having dark red, heart shaped scales on its white body. The snake was coiled around a red heart, with the words 'love is binding' written underneath. The other house banners had been similarly altered, having their own minor modifications for the day, with words of love and affection printed on them.

'There goes our self respect,' she noted grimly, wondering why Professor Snape had allowed such tampering.

The tables themselves were virtually covered in different themed items, including flower pots of heart shaped flowers acting as decorations, the flowers changing between different shades. Even dark red rose petals dropped from the ceiling, only to disappear before they reached the floor or touched a person's head and shoulders. The traditional goblets had been replaced with cheesy pink glasses, with their knives and forks all having stylized hearts at their bases. A bunch of cupids then entered the hall, their bows hanging off their backs.

Taking her regular seat with her back against the wall, she reached for some toast just to realize the toast too had been altered. Instead of the square slices of toast, they were all shaped into more tacky love hearts. 'This is going to be a _long_ day,' she noted grimly, wondering what madness had gripped the headmaster to allow this tasteless display for the holiday.

**Midnight Lord**

Halfway through herbology it started, the coughing, it was minor at first, just a single random cough, but that single cough steadily grew into a harsh coughing fit. "You ok, Harry?" Padma asked, giving her friend a worried look, as the coughing fit began again. "I'm fine, Padma," Harry replied, waving away her concern.

"If you say so," she replied, giving her friend another concerned look as he coughed again; she noticed both Daphne and Tracy looking over.

Harry's coughing grew steadily worse through the lesson, attracting the attention of Professor Sprout. "Mr. Potter, are you alright?" the herbology professor enquired.

"I'll be fine Madam, it's just a cough," Harry stated, waving away her concern, before coughing again violently, the coughs sounding harsh and unforgiving.

The head of Hufflepuff house gave Harry a pointed look, clearly disagreeing with him, "Mr. Potter, I think you should go to the hospital wing and get yourself checked out immediately," her tone of voice making it clear that this was a command and not a request that he could refuse.

"Yes Professor," Harry reluctantly agreed, before coughing up some darkish blood, his hands shooting out to grab hold of the desk to support himself, as Padma jumped back away from the desk, several of her watching classmates gasping in shock and horror. Professor Sprout's face paled by several shades.

"You're definitely not alright Mr. Potter!" Professor Sprout declared as she gave the Ravenclaw seeker another alarmed look as Harry coughed up some more blackish blood, even as a faint drop of blood bled from his left eye, the dark red blood running down his paling flesh, just as more blood started to run from his nose.

"Come with me now, class dismissed," the professor stated, the worry easily detectable in her voice as she pulled Harry out of the greenhouse. However, the pair didn't even get past the greenhouse door before Harry suddenly went completely slack, his body dropping like a puppet with its strings cut as Harry started violently coughing up more blood on the gravel path, the blood covering the stones beneath him.

Professor Sprout's wand quickly appeared in her hand. Padma watched the head of Hufflepuff wave her wand over the coughing Harry, the tip of her wand turning an eerie black.

"Mr. Potter has been poisoned, he needs to be taken to the hospital wing immediately," Sprout declared in a panic, even as she cast a levitation charm on Harry and took off running with him in tow. It took Padma a moment to process the professor's panicked words, before she instinctively gasped in shock, much like the rest of the class, her hand slamming over her mouth as panic started to surge through her.

**At the Same Time**

Professor McGonagall was having a chaos filled day, even more so than usual given her chosen choice of career.

First, she was forced to deal with running the school, as the headmaster had been called away on urgent business at the Ministry of Magic to prevent an extreme anti-creature bill from being passed. This ultimately left her to handle the business of managing all this Valentine's Day chaos, caused by Professor Lockhart and a dozen dwarves running around the school. Truth be told, she privately suspected that the headmaster had arranged this urgent business intentionally, so that he wouldn't have to deal this headache himself.

However her internal ranting was abruptly interrupted as her office door violently burst open, with young Dean Thomas running into the room in a near panic.

"Professor, come quick, something is seriously wrong with Neville! He just suddenly started coughing up a lot of blood in the middle of the common room!" Dean explained between several fast breaths.

It took her a couple of moments to process what Dean was saying, as she mentally replayed what he was saying over in her head at a much slower pace. Once she realized what had been said, she leapt into action, displaying a surprising amount of quickness and energy for her age.

"What happened? Tell me everything," she instructed Mr. Thomas, as she quickly made her way towards the Gryffindor common room at a near run.

"He just started up coughing. It wasn't much at first, but it grew worse and worse, the coughing fit lasting longer each time. We thought at first that it was some type of plank, a coughing jinx or hex, then he started coughing up dark blood," Dean explained, as he hurried to keep up with her fast pace. "Then I came to get you Professor."

"Did none of the older students try to help?" she asked, wondering why the portraits hadn't reacted and notified her immediately. They could travel very fast through the other frames.

"Some of them tried to help, but it just seemed to make things worse. Hermione even tried some non-magical techniques," he replied, her face turned even grimmer at the news.

Her mind quickly went through several different possibilities to explain away Neville's sudden sickness and coughing of blood, before her mind stopped on assassination. Already there had been a number of attempts on Neville's life throughout the years before coming to school, and two happening during two separate quidditch matches, both the boy's first year and second year. She began to quicken her pace instinctively. But she didn't voice this out loud; it wouldn't do to panic the young lad.

**Midnight Lord**

**Number 12**

Harry looked up from the textbook he was reading to see his godfather standing in the bedroom doorway, his face grim and serious. "Something has gone wrong hasn't it?" he asked carefully, his godfather just nodding in response.

"What happened?" he asked, as he closed his book and gave his full attention to his godfather.

"Your auror replacement was poisoned for real, and unfortunately died. Neville Longbottom was poisoned as well, but is hanging on by a thread. We don't know if Neville will live through the night," Sirius offered grimly, his eyes meeting Harry's own. "There is another assassin out there, not just Pettigrew," Harry just looked out the window at this grim piece of news.

His godfather's words caused him to close his eyes as he thought about the terrible news, the auror's real poisoning and subsequent death and the attempt on a fellow classmate had shaken him deeply. Personally, he didn't like Neville, but he still wouldn't want the fool to be hurt or killed. "Despite the auror's unfortunate death this can be worked to our advantage Sirius. It will bring the Longbottoms and their allies onto our side and strengthen Madam Bones' resolve. It will also increase the severity of the charges brought against Lord Malfoy," Harry voiced coldly.

Sirius gave him another look, before finally agreeing with him. "Indeed, despite this, Madam Bones and the Headmaster have agreed that the plan will still go forward. It's still our best chance to catch Lucius in the act and bring him down for good; it just needs to be adapted in light of the new circumstances."

**End of Chapter**


	40. Y2 Confrontation Pt4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 40 Confrontations Pt4**

**Posted 24th October 2013**

**Revised and****Beta'd by 'Joe Lawyer'**

**Friday**

Sitting on the rim of an empty hospital bed, his hands resting on the soft white bed sheets, he felt all his many years weighing on him as he watched the nurse hurriedly work on her sole patient, desperately working to restore Neville's health and heal the extensive damage done by the destructive poison.

As far as the rest of the world was concerned it was a miracle that Neville was still alive. It was yet another chapter to add to the boy's elaborate life story, at least that was what everyone else was led to believe. _He_ certainly wasn't going to correct them. He pinched the bridge of his nose in thought whilst he looked down on the prone form of Neville Longbottom, Britain's young saviour. The child's face was relaxed and restful despite the physical torment that the second year had just gone through. He now knew what young Neville was, why the boy could sense the Dark Lord, why the boy's magical core was so well developed for his age, and just why the boy was a parselmouth.

He looked down yet again at the lightning shaped curse scar on his brow even as his powerful, occlumency enhanced mind went over the exact wording of the prophecy for the thousandth time, and what the curse scar truly meant...how it all fit together.

After all 'mark him as his equal,' took on a much greater, more sinister meaning when you considered that Neville was actually carrying a fragment of the Dark Lord's twisted and corrupt soul within him... The boy was an unknowing abomination of dark magic; Neville was a _living_ horcrux, a soul anchor for the fallen Dark Lord, just like the cursed diary found upon Ginny Weasley. These horcruxes chained the dark wizard to this plane of existence and prevented his soul from passing on to the next life. He let out a depressed sigh before it caught in his throat, as he suddenly realized in dawning horror that as long as Neville was alive, the horcrux would endure, and thus so would Lord Voldemort.

Neville _had_ to die for Lord Voldemort to die, or the rogue soul fragment had to be removed by the Dark Lord himself, but the question was how?

_But,_ the horcrux was also unintentionally anchoring Neville to this plane of existence as well, preventing the child of prophecy from dying when others would have most certainly. His tired mind once again went over the exact wording of the prophecy, as he started to understand its full, twisted meaning.

"Headmaster, are you alright?" Poppy asked from her place by his bedside.

Acutely feeling his age for once, he gave a tired sigh, "Fine my dear, just lost in thought," he replied, as the healer nodded her head in understanding before turning back to her primary patient.

He looked around the rest of the hospital wing, seeing the many casualties of Lucius' latest plot, before looking back at the cursed boy of prophecy. He made a promise to himself to see Lucius brought to justice this time, for his mad schemes of power. But the truly important question was what to do about young Neville? He once again considered the possibilities. So lost in his own troubled thoughts, he didn't even realize that Minerva was calling for him before he was roughly shaken, and found himself looking into the deputy headmistress' tired and concerned eyes. "Oh, what is it Minerva?"

"The board of governors is here; they're demanding a meeting," she offered soberly as he fought another tired sigh from escaping.

"Lucius was certainly quick to mobilize, faster than even I expected," he noted warily, once again confirming Lucius' guilt in his own mind.

"Do you believe Lord Malfoy is involved?" his deputy asked.

"Indeed. I believe he was also behind the Chamber of Secrets, but I have no proof," he unintentionally confessed as he stood from the bed, with one more look around the hospital wing. "Walk with me Minerva." The pair of them silently left the hospital wing.

After discreetly casting a powerful mobile privacy charm around them, he began again, "Minerva, there is a very good chance that I'll have to resign as Hogwarts' headmaster today," he started with tired sigh, as he saw his many plans starting to unravel around him. "But we cannot allow Lucius to be appointed as acting headmaster in my stead, which I'm sure is his goal. I can only imagine what Hogwarts would become under his hand. Therefore, I have to place a terrible burden on you and ask you to take on the responsibility of headmistress of Hogwarts in my place."

Several long minutes passed as they slowly made their way to the staff room. "I understand Headmaster, I'll keep the school running," she expressly soberly.

"I'll do what I can to assure your appointment," he encouraged, trying to remain positive. "If I can't, then I'll probably get Severus appointed, since Lucius would readily accept his friend's appointment over you."

"Severus is hardly a suitable choice for the headmaster position Albus. He's ridiculously unpopular with both the students and the staff," the cat animagus argued.

He mentally agreed with her assessment, but at this point it was mostly about damage control. At least with the fake Severus in charge of the school he would still have some influence, even if it was behind the scenes. "You are correct Minerva, but it is the lesser evil compared to allowing Lucius to take command of the school," he countered as they reached the staff room door, taking a moment to compose himself. "On that note, I ask that you continue to retain Severus despite his conduct, it is necessary for the greater good."

"I'll give him a chance," she replied evenly, but promising no more.

"Thank you, Minerva. I know you and Severus have had your differences in the past, but this is important," he voiced grimly. "Fawkes," he called aloud, as his familiar appeared next to him, the immortal fire bird landing on his shoulder. "I need your help once again my old friend." He gently stroked Fawkes' chin as a beautiful song was sung and a wave of calm started to wash over him restoring his shaken faith.

"Once again into the breach," he muttered, opening the door as he stepped into the room, with a still singing Fawkes on his shoulder.

**Number 12**

Harry silently watched through the enchanted mirror as the meeting unfolded in the staff room, the aging headmaster zealously defending himself against the board of governors' attacks on his character and his leadership of school, despite the angry looking phoenix on the headmaster's shoulder giving the governors its best disapproving stare, which was rather intimidating actually. It soon became abundantly clear that the meeting was well planned and scripted, as he watched several of the governors take turns leading with baited questions designed to lure the headmaster into cleverly hidden traps.

Throughout it all Lord Malfoy carefully directed this masterpiece of gamesmanship, often interrupting his own governors' rants in favour of restoring order and playing the role of reasonable neutral party during the meeting, then subtly directing the discussion down another pre-planned avenue of attack. It was almost something to be truly admired, the ruthless efficiency and cleverness of it all, even if the man had tried to kill him.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to kill the death eater, the man that wanted him dead and had worked hard to make it happen. He restrained his overwhelming primal impulse to remove the threat, while taking comfort that this was just the opening stage in a clever plan of entrapment. The minutes slowly ticked by as he watched more and more of the actually neutral governors fall to the murderous lord's clever manipulations. It soon got to the point that only a small group of governors remained steadfastly loyal to the headmaster, under the leadership of Madam Longbottom, who was giving the Lord Malfoy an accusing look.

It was then that he saw it; the recognition of defeat on the headmaster's face, of resignation at what was to come, at the realization that the battle was already lost, and that it was time to save face and withdraw to fight another day. "I will resign then. My deputy Professor McGonagall will make a suitable successor. She is strict but fair," several of the governors muttered their agreements to the idea.

"I don't believe that to be wise headmaster. Hogwarts _needs_ a fresh start after these recent terrible events," Lucius spoke up with only a hint of smugness detectable. "We need to clean house. The school needs new leadership, _untainted_ leadership."

"Perhaps, but that also means Professor Snape will have to be fired since he himself has received far too many complaints over the long years. Complaints which have been brushed aside to protect the school's good name and image," the headmaster noted aloud. "It's also traditional that the deputy head teacher take over the position upon the resignation, or retirement of the current headmaster," the Chief Warlock countered as he looked around the table with another soft smile. "And we can't simply ignore long held tradition now can we?" the headmaster asked the table as several of them nodded. "Tradition and history are the backbone of Magical Britain and its social structure, just like Hogwarts is the symbol of Britain. It was here long before the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot came to be. If we start deciding what sacred traditions are to be ignored and changed at our leisure, then others can equally be removed and challenged, the order of things upset," Albus lectured evenly, with a hidden threat.

"Indeed," another governor voiced in agreement, as the others nodded and grumbled their own reluctant agreement.

"My mistakes are my own, not the staffs', not my deputy's. She has done nothing but follow my instructions," he defended the head of Gryffindor house. "If you want my resignation without a fight, you have to accept my choice in successor."

"Are you implying something headmaster?" Lucius enquired, easily ignoring Fawkes' piercing look.

He watched as the signature grandfatherly amused smile appeared on the Chief Warlock's tired features, "Oh nothing, but with all my additional free time, I'll finally be able to fully take part in Ministry and Wizengamot politics, rather than having to spend many hours of my day dealing with school related problems and administration issues. Already I can see all the free time I'll have to launch myself back into Ministry affairs, who knows, maybe I'll even finally choose to become the next Minister of Magic, They have asked for that very thing so many times in the past." Harry watched the governors give each other nervous looks at this new information, this obviously being something they hadn't considered. It was then that he saw it, as he realized that Dumbledore was like some newly awoken beast, finally stirring from their long slumber, ready to lash out viciously and without mercy at his harassers. He wasn't even truly in the room and his inner animal was urging him to back off to a safe distance.

He knew right then and there that he was going to back off in his latest scheme and merely watch the new changes unfold. That was a much safer option compared to being marked as a threat, a rival, as he eagerly watched the scene. Several of the grown adults gave the elderly wizard nervous looks, as Lucius met the headmaster's stare straight on.

Watching as the meeting quickly drew to a close, he sensed a shift in the atmosphere; Dumbledore was no longer on the defensive, he was readying himself for war.

Closing the magical connection to the mirror it turned back to normal, unassuming glass, while he took a moment to consider this latest news, and how it would affect the political battlefield. Sure, Professor McGonagall becoming the new Headmistress was a good thing. She was strict, but fair, and that was something he respected; but at the same time he predicted that the elderly wizard would be back before too long, in fact as soon as the true mastermind was revealed he predicted.

But with the elderly wizard temporarily removed from the school, many previously discarded plans suddenly became tenable. Now that Dumbledore was gone, he finally had the chance to access and explore the Chamber of Secrets buried deep beneath the school and could now make contact with the ancient serpent within. Turning back to his dressing table mirror, he activated the mirror's special charms and patiently waited and watched for Rita to pick up the 'call' he had made to her. Seconds later the mirror's surface rippled and changed as Rita appeared in a sheer black dressing gown made of form fitting acromantula silk. "My Lord," she greeted with a fake smile, he could just sense her annoyance at being called.

He smiled as he took in her form, now capable of appreciating her feminine beauty, "I just thought that you should know Rita that Professor Dumbledore is resigning as headmaster of Hogwarts and professor McGonagall is his chosen successor," he informed his servant.

He smiled as she saw her eyes light up for real at the prospect of a major story that she likely had the exclusive on, "How do you know this my lord?" she purred eagerly.

"I'd rather not say," he teased, as he examined Rita's soft feminine form once again. "But I'll show you this summer. I expect you'll make far better use of it than I will," he said, already having decided to use Rita to set up his spy network and operate it on his behalf for the foreseeable future. Of course, he would put extremely well worded magical orders in place to make sure that she didn't use it against him, abuse it, or risk revealing it to the world by using it too extensively. This advantage would last only as long as it remained secret and he hoped to use it for many, many years to come.

"Sounds interesting, my lord," she voiced demurely, her robe opening slightly, showing a hint of her bare chest.

He didn't know if it was intentional or merely an accident, so he chose to ignore it for the time being rather than point out the slip. "Trust me Rita, if you use this right you will be the most feared reporter in the whole of Britain," he voiced.

"I'm already the most feared reporter in Britain my Lord. Even the Minister fears me and my quill, remember?" she announced with a smirk.

He smirked back at the chained reporter, once again immensely grateful for the binding magical oaths placed upon her to ensure her obedience and absolute loyalty to him. "How true," he noted after several long seconds of thought. "You will be even more feared then. Now I want it to seem that it was Lord Malfoy who leaked the story to you. I want Dumbledore believing that Lord Malfoy is behind it and I want Dumbledore to be focusing on Lord Malfoy to the exclusion of everything else."

"Of course my Lord, it should be easy enough," she noted, as an elaborate quill suddenly appeared in her hand. "I assume you want to set them at one another," Rita voiced, her self-inking quill dancing across her parchment.

Smiling back at his henchwomen, "Of course Rita, I want them at each other's throats, but don't paint Lord Malfoy in a positive light or anything, stay strictly neutral. But if you can, please subtly remind people of his questionable past and his links with You-Know-Who."

"Hmmm... that's makes it harder, but not impossible my lord," she noted, taking up the challenge he set for her.

"That's why you're the best my dear," he offered, stroking her ego.

"Is there anything else, my lord?" she asked.

Stroking his chin thoughtfully, "No Rita, but you should know that I'll be requesting an interview with the Prophet in the next week or so, after I'm resurrected from the dead. I'll specifically request that you do the interview, so make sure that you're in a position to accept the story from your boss when it comes," he ordered, as she bobbed her head in understanding. "By the way, don't bother sending me a draft of your story for tomorrow's paper, there won't be enough time, so I'll trust your judgement on it."

"Yes my lord," she nodded with a proud smile at my small display of trust in her.

"Good, now I have to go, I'm meant to be dead after all," he voiced with a hint of amusement, "But do a good job and you'll be rewarded," he teased as he closed the connection. Hopefully his intervention would add fuel to the fire between Lord Malfoy and the Chief Warlock, escalating their upcoming conflict and ensuring that when the time came for the man's arrest, there would be no mercy shown from Dumbledore and his faction. After all, as it stood now he couldn't fight either of them directly and win; this way it got them both out of his hair for a time, buying him some much needed breathing room to rally his resources and seize opportunities while their attention was diverted.

As he looked around his bedroom he eyed the bookshelves for anything of interest, but found nothing that stirred his current desires and mood. He wanted to do something far more active and creative, rather than merely hiding in his room and reading all the while his godfather arranged a fake funeral for his dead godson. Going over his list of active projects, he mentally ticked through his to-do list. He realized that he had not even begun to explore the long ago thought up idea of creating a potion grenade... It was time for some research, he thought excitedly, as he picked up his notepad and quill. He then left his bedroom and made his way through the redecorated halls of Number 12, enjoying the light cream colours around the house, rather than the former gloomy, dark colours favoured by Sirius' ancestors. It was truly amazing how a simple colour change could alter everyone's mood for the better, how the whole house was transformed to look far less depressing and dreary.

**Hogwarts Great Hall – Friday Morning**

Minerva gave a tired yawn as she sat down at the teacher's table for breakfast, along with the rest of the staff, as she looked over the grim faced student body. The previous day's events were still registering with some of her students, her Gryffindors quite sober at the poisoning of one of their own, but news that Neville would make a full recovery raised their spirits considerably.

But sadly it seemed that that was all they cared about; none of them seemed bothered by the death of a Ravenclaw student. She turned to look at the Ravenclaw table to see that it was a mixed bag even there. Clearly some of them were upset at the murder of one their housemates, but others didn't seem bothered at all. The most vocal were the members of the Quidditch team, but even they were showing only annoyance at losing their 'star' seeker before they could win the house Quidditch tournament. However, it was also clear that one of their members didn't care a whit that one their own teammates had been murdered, but instead seemed rather cheerful at the recent turn of events. She never expected such unseemly behaviour from one her favourites and was forced to reconsider her favourable opinion of one Cho Chang.

Looking at the Asian student with new eyes, she decided the third year required close watching.

She then turned her gaze to examine Harry's small group of friends and saw that they were sitting by themselves passing quiet words between them. Their behaviour seemed absolutely normal for them, not at all the type of behaviour that she would attribute to acutely mourning the unexpected and sudden passing of a dear friend. However, before she could think on this oddity any longer the morning post owls suddenly flooded into the hall. 'They're certainly early today,' she noted whilst watching the owls deliver their precious loads as a fast approaching tawny barn owl dropped her own newspaper into her newly poured bowl of cereal, splashing her with milk and cereal. She immediately heard the beginnings of light giggles and chuckles at her expense...

Then she heard the first gasps of shock from her students, as they opened the Saturday morning newspaper and took in the headline. The first bits of idle gossip erupted around the great hall. Quickly unfolding her own newspaper to see what was causing this reaction, her eyes settled on the thick, bold, black ink of the headline.

**Murder Most Foul At Hogwarts! The Heir to the Potter and Black Families Murdered! Attempted Murder of the Boy-Who-Lived!**

**Headmaster Resigns in Disgrace!**

_Pages 1-5_

_By Rita Skeeter_

"How could she know this so quickly?!" Filius suddenly asked from further down the teacher's table, voicing her own thoughts at the headline.

"I don't know Filius, I just don't know," she expressed with a deep frown. "I thought the Board of Governors agreed to hold off on informing the press until the end of the weekend, so we would have time to prepare a response."

"This is awfully bad," Pomona voiced from besides her, the distress in her voice easily detectable to those who knew her.

"How bad is the article Pomona?" she asked the head of Hufflepuff house, who was quickly reading through the pages.

"Damning bad. It looks like she's trying to get us all hanged," she noted in distress, attracting alarmed looks from the rest of the staff. "Rita is calling for a full investigation into the day-to-day running of Hogwarts, and calls for all our resignations. I expect we will be receiving the first of many howlers by lunch time," the head of Hufflepuff voiced anxiously as she continued to skim through the pages, quickly reading all the referenced articles providing more information.

"Just great," she muttered, already knowing it was going to be a _very_ long day.

She was just about to reply when she was suddenly interrupted, "Professor, this can't be true, can it?" Hermione Granger asked, suddenly appearing in front of the teacher's table in an obvious state of panic.

Not having the heart to take points for being rudely interrupted, she merely offered a sad smile, "Unfortunately, it is true Miss Granger; the headmaster has agreed to resign. He will be coming down in a couple of minutes to make a final statement and explain what's going to happen now."

"So is Hogwarts going to close?" Hermione asked in a state of panic, as the rest of great hall listened in.

"I don't know child, but not if I can help it," she strongly declared.

**Number 12**

"Note to self, do _not_ get on Rita's bad side," he mused out loud as he sat down with his godfather and Remus for breakfast together, whilst he simultaneously read the morning paper and spooned cereal into his mouth.

"Right you are there pup," Sirius agreed with a grin. "At least she likes you; her bit about you is actually very flattering."

"What can I say, I'm a likeable guy," Harry voiced with a smirk between mouthfuls.

"What are you going to do today then pup?" Sirius asked, as Remus looked up from his own international newspaper with interest at the answer.

"Research project," he answered back vaguely, not wishing to share anything further with Remus within earshot. He had absolutely no desire for Dumbledore to be apprised of his magical side projects. The less the man knew, the better.

**Midnight Lord**

**Minister's Residence **

He reclined in his study chair, his study which was lavishly furnished to ensure his guests were well aware of his position's power as the head of the British Ministry of Magic. "Lucius, you can't be serious," Fudge protested to his special adviser and biggest financial backer.

"Why not, the Chief Warlock should stand trial for his failings at Hogwarts," Lucius pushed. "Even the Daily Prophet is calling for it."

"That means nothing Lucius, both of us know that. The Prophet is a newspaper, which means they'll say whatever they believe will sell the most papers, what they believe the public wants to hear," Fudge argued back rather intelligently to his old Hogwarts' housemate. "You know as well as I do that the Chief Warlock has a great amount of pull in the ministry; I'm not willing to move against him just because you say so... I rather like my job."

Lucius puffed himself up in his own chair in response, "Need I remind you just who helped you win your election Cornelius? _I made you_, you're Minister today because of my gold and my associates' efforts," Lucius expressed, giving him a sharp, dangerous look.

He showed his own smile, "Need I _remind_ you that I am the _only_ reason that Madam Bones doesn't have a ministry search warrant to investigate your shady dealings...I can change that with but a simple flick of my quill," Fudge countered with his own show of confidence, knowing that backing down to Lucius' demands now would just make the dangerous politician bolder and far more demanding at their next meeting. Lucius' eyes seemed to darken. "_However_, I agree with you that an investigation needs to be launched to look into the security failings of Hogwarts and her staff. The Ministry of Magic needs to be seen as being proactive in his matter, to help counter the public's fears of Hogwarts being unsafe for their children."

"Naturally," Lucius voiced dryly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and then pouring himself some vintage firewhisky from a nearby crystal decanter. "Has there been any mention by the goblins of to whom the _Potter_ estate, vaults, and properties are going to?"

He shook his head in response, since he too had made enquires on the subject. "No, they are remaining tight-lipped about the matter as always, but they have confirmed at least that there was a will left by the boy," he offered, which surprised him that the boy had even considered the matter at such a young age.

"Of course," Lucius replied thoughtfully.

**Ministry of Magic**

"Madam Bones, there was an enquiry made into Mr. Potter's wand activity earlier this morning by Auror Dietz," Auror Adams offered, as soon as her office door was shut and sealed and the anti-surveillance charms were engaged.

"Interesting," Madam Bones noted dispassionately, as she quickly wrote the named auror down on a nearby piece of parchment. "Continue to discreetly monitor any and all enquires made about it and anything to do with Mr. Potter. I want the names of any moles within our department."

"Yes boss," the seasoned Auror replied, before leaving her alone with her thoughts.

As soon as her office door shut, she took a moment to consider the latest developments and the identity of the newly discovered mole to her growing list of possible traitors. There were already _five_ names on it. Five people she expected were selling and/or passing on information about current Auror activities and investigations to different parties for whatever reason, money, blackmail, to curry favour, etc. She mentally pat herself on the back at her own foresight for disabling the tracking charms on Mr. Potter's wand and changing its official status to 'dead' in the ministry records' office to help truly sell the illusion of Mr. Potter being truly dead.

Nevertheless she planned to confront those suspected moles shortly, in fact as soon as the current sting operation was complete and not a moment before. She had no intention of ending it too soon, lest she miss anybody in the roundup. After all, she couldn't afford to have such dangerous information leaks in her own department. Hopefully the threat of imprisonment in Azkaban would get the moles talking and maybe even allowing them to be turned against their original masters. But first she had to dispatch more of her Aurors on several false leads to keep up the appearance that she was actively searching for Peter...

**Midnight Lord**

**Slytherin Common Room**

Daphne carefully wrote her private letter in the corner of her dorm room, as she started to relay recent events taking place around the school to her friend and ally who was currently playing dead. She had to admit, it was a rather ingenious plan to help lure out his attackers, and that was something she could admire. Whilst Harry did not reveal the name of the person that had hired Peter, he had hinted that he already knew who it was who had ordered his death by Peter's under skilled hands, and had asked her to be his eyes and ears in the school whilst he was gone.

She could easily guess what Harry's private motivations were; he simply wanted to know who celebrated his death and who slandered his name and reputation so that when he finally returned to life (and school) he could mark them as the enemies they were. A sly, delighted smile appeared on her soft feminine features. Naturally, she would have done the same if she was in his position.

She enjoyed the silent thrill of the shadowy game she was playing within her house, how she closely watched all their reactions. Of course, she wasn't playing the role of spy for free; she expected a couple favours in return for her efforts and she knew that Harry always paid his debts...and collected for that matter. Gently pushing a rogue lock of blonde hair behind her ear she considered the days to come.

The school was subtly changing, shifting with the removal of the aging Headmaster and the promotion of the stern faced Professor McGonagall to the role of Headmistress. She could already tell that discipline in the school was going to become much harsher, more draconian, much like how Professor McGonagall ran her own classes.

Succinctly, but comprehensively, she wrote down an accurate description of the day's events, whilst recording the names of several of her housemates that had made insulting remarks about him and the exact words they used, if she could remember. She wondered what the fall out of all this would be. She knew that Harry wasn't the type of person to simply forgive and forget, he was a consummate Slytherin at heart, one who would remember such sleights against him and repay them with interest. However, the most surprising person in all this had been Pansy, who had, since the Ministry's Christmas Ball, been staying neutral in terms of Potter. After Harry's death she had joined back on Draco's bandwagon, just like the simple follower she was.

She considered the matter of Pansy and Draco again before she accurately noted down Pansy's own silly remarks about Harry. After all, Pansy was a possible rival for Harry's affections in the years to come, a _minor_ rival to be sure, but a rival nonetheless, so she wanted to ensure that that friendship was either destroyed or fractured as much as possible to effectively remove Pansy from the equation.

Yes, it was a tad spiteful and manipulative, but her parents had ordered her to do so. Frankly, her parents were sending her a lot of mixed signals these days, one minute it was to get closer to Harry, the next minute was to back off and focus on her betrothed.

Reaching for her perfume bottle, she gently sprayed some of the flowery liquid onto the tanned parchment, just like her mother's lessons had advised, followed quickly by a drying charm. Sealing the letter with a sticking charm and carefully addressing the letter to Lord Black, she carefully poured some melted red wax on the envelope and pressed her own family heir ring to the cooling wax, leaving her house crest displayed on the envelope.

**Midnight Lord**

Taking a deep calming breath to help center herself, she mentally prepared for her first announcement as the new Headmistress of Hogwarts, the mantle of responsibility weighing heavily on her aging shoulders as she considered the legacy of the school and of its history.

She had always hoped to become Headmistress in time, the pinnacle goal of her long career in magical education, but she never thought she would achieve it with Albus holding the ancient office for so long. Thinking about her predecessor, she considered for a moment Albus' own legacy as Headmaster of Hogwarts and what future history books would remember him for. Would they remember him as a noble wizard who had succeeded in protecting the school throughout the rise of Lord Voldemort? Or would he only be remembered for his recent failings? His fall from grace resulting from his bringing politics into the school?

It didn't matter really; she just had to put her best foot forward and take charge, grabbing the reigns and beginning the long process of repairing the damage done to the ancient institution's reputation. She slowly walked up to the podium, the golden owl sparkling under the light from the floating candles. "Attention, Attention," she called out over the talkative hall, with no response from her charges.

"Attention!" she barked, as the first of her charges stopped to listen, noticing a couple of younger years looking at her.

"Attention!" she shouted out for the 3rd time, her anger starting to rise at the show of disrespect to her. Looking quickly over towards her staff, she saw that they were content to watch and follow her lead. She knew what to do, she had been doing it for years at the opening feast, setting a stern impression. She would put on a show of force, concluding it was for the best to set an example, to put her foot down and start reigning in the beast and restore discipline and respect in her students. "250 points from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, for bad manners," she announced, the house point hourglass emptying quickly, the sudden draining sound immediately catching the attention of the remaining students, as the whole hall suddenly fell quiet in shock and confusion.

"If anyone else dares to interrupt me, or speaks over me, I'll have you in detention for the rest of the month," she dared, her eyes scanning the tables dangerously, just hoping one of them would dare her, before her eyes fell upon Marcus Flint, the seventh year still talking with his worried looking friends.

"Detention, Mr. Flint," she snapped, pointing him out from her raised position.

"What for?!" Flint suddenly snapped.

"For ignoring and disrespecting the headmistress of Hogwarts," she voiced to the silent room. "Another word from you and I'll remove you from the Quidditch team for the rest of the year," whilst sending him a look that could rival Severus' own look.

Turning to look at her silent colleague, the potion master was silently watching things unfold. Frankly, Severus' behaviour recently was rather unusual, he was calmer, less of a bully, and far more reasonable to deal with. "Professor Snape, I believe you need to have some words with your charges about proper manners and respecting authority. I won't tolerate any more disrespect by your house."

"Yes headmistress," the gloomy potion master replied, bowing his head in acknowledgement of the order, before standing up and turning to the Slytherin table. "House meeting at 8 o'clock sharp, your presence is mandatory. Non attendance is an automatic two weeks of detention, the loss of 50 house points, and another 5 house points for every minute you're late." The potion master's stern words stunned the Slytherin house, upon realizing that the professor meant every word of his declaration. "Lateness will also result in additional punishment. You had better not be late," he threatened, before reclaiming his seat.

Looking around the hall, she tried to make eye contact with all the students. At that moment all of them were looking at her, their attention sharply focussed on her out of fear and uncertainty. Satisfied that she finally had their unwavering attention, she began her prepared speech. "As I'm sure you have heard, due to recent unfortunate events, with the murder of Mr. Potter and the poisoning of Mr Longbottom, the Headmaster has had to resign for the ongoing investigation. I'm now the acting Headmistress with Professor Flitwick acting as my deputy," she explained to the silent hall, no one daring to clap.

"As Deputy Headmistress I was forced to follow Albus' leadership, which had seen some of the school's rules relaxed, but that's going to change. No longer will disruptive behaviour be tolerated. No longer will inappropriate language be overlooked and ignored," she levelled a stare at the Slytherin table, making sure to look at Draco Malfoy in particular. "From now on you will act the part of respectable wizards and witches that society expects of you. No longer will laziness be ignored and overlooked; you _will_ rise to meet your potential," at this she looked over to the Gryffindor table, sending Ron Weasley a sharp look. "You have all been warned," she stated firmly. "I won't be as laid back as the previous headmaster was about behaviour and I won't hesitate to expel any of you from Hogwarts if you fail to act like civilized students, no matter your family status," she said as she swept the great hall with her stern look, already seeing some shocked faces and dawning realization amongst her own former house that there would be no favourites.

After all, her legacy as headmistress would never truly be remembered with Albus' enormous shadow hanging over the position, therefore she had to take another route. Rather than competing against Albus' legacy, she would be the disciplinarian of the two, the one who restored order and pride to the school. Truthfully, she believed she could do that where he had failed; she would only have one job, one goal, and that was to make Hogwarts successful again. "Let me make myself clear, things are going to change around here, no longer will you just glide your way through your classes; you will be actively pushed to reach your true potential," she reminded everyone, as she noticed the Ravenclaw students watching her eagerly.

"To start, uniforms," she announced as she once again examined the hall. "The uniform policy will be enforced to the letter," at this she looked over some of the messy students, the first rumbles starting up. "Silence!" she barked, reasserting control.

She took another calming breath. "Now, onto more positive matters. Professor Hooch has agreed to take over the role as head of Gryffindor house until the end of term," she explained, whilst gesturing over to the former Quidditch star standing to one side. As their broom instructor stood, a round of polite applause filled the school. She smiled as she clapped as well, 'Hopefully Gryffindor will win the Quidditch cup now,' she mused, as the round of applause slowly faded away.

"A new transfiguration teacher is also currently being arranged and will be starting next Wednesday. Until then I'll be taking the upper year classes and some of my NEWT students will be leading the first, second, third and fourth year classes," she explained, already seeing thoughts popping into their minds of goofing off and skipping the class. She continued while smiling cruelly, "Of course, these students will temporarily have the full backing and disciplinary powers of a teacher, enabling them to be able to assign detentions at will," she sent a warning look at the Weasley twins.

"I believe that's everything for now, but there will be further announcements in the future," she concluded, stepping down from the podium and taking up the Headmistress seat for the very first time.

While serving herself up some dinner she watched her students with curiosity from her throne. "After we finish dinner tonight we're going to have a staff meeting," she announced to the staff table. "We are going to be discussing the new changes in school policy and how we are going to implement them," she paused to cut into her slice of beef. "We're also going to discuss certain people's employment contracts and their continued employment here at Hogwarts." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Severus freeze in mid bite, before quickly recovering his wits. 'Good, he's worried,' she noted with a sense of amusement, as she chewed her slice of expertly prepared beef, before using a napkin to clear a small bit of gravy from her lips.

"Please inform Sybil that her presence is mandatory Filius; I will accept no excuses from her," she voiced, as the half goblin nodded. "I've had just enough of her drunkenness. We can't expect the students to behave and respect the rules if their teachers and role models we provide them are incapable of living up to that standard; we must lead by example people. That means everyone is under examination."

"Of course, Minerva," Filius agreed, nodding his head in agreement as several of her staff members agreed with her on this point.

"Severus, please make sure that Professor Lockhart is informed as well. We need to discuss his own teaching style, and continued employment here at this school," she looking quickly over towards the potion's master.

"Certainly headmistress," the gloomy potion master replied, "I shall see to it immediately."

"Thank you, Severus," she expressed, as she watched the potion master rise from his seat.

"Severus, how would you feel about taking over the DADA position for the rest of the year?" she asked, as the man made to leave.

"I would consider it, but a new potion master would be required," the head of Slytherin house replied evenly after some thought.

**Midnight Lord**

**Sunday Morning**

Lucius met his friend's stare, noting to himself that the look was colder than usual, and he also saw signs of acute fatigue haunting the man's features, "Good morning Severus, I trust you are well?" he asked politely.

"I'm fine Lucius, just very busy. The old cat is making a lot of changes around the school," Severus replied.

"Indeed, Draco told me in his letter. He even said you gave him a detention," he voiced.

"He was being disrespectful and rude, behaviour unfitting of a boy of his rank and station," Severus countered. "He was also rash enough to challenge me in public, meaning I could not overlook the offense even had I wanted to. He had to be punished," He nodded to this in understanding. "He also throws your name around like it's going out of fashion. For every minor offense, he says, 'Wait until my father hears about this,' or comes to me expecting me to act on his behalf... it grows tiresome cleaning up Draco's many messes. Frankly, he's the laughingstock of Slytherin. It's only your considerable reputation and power and my interference that keeps him safe when my back is turned."

He considered his friend's words carefully, "You are right; his behaviour is simply unacceptable for someone of his status, I'll speak to him this summer about his conduct. I blame his mother, she spoils and pampers him far too much," he replied.

"It's in a mother's very nature to spoil and pamper their children," Severus wisely observed, which he just nodded to in agreement.

"So what can I do for you? I'm awfully busy and don't have much time to spare Lucius," Severus stated.

"How is the ongoing auror investigation going? Do you have any idea how Potter was killed? Do the aurors? Several of our friends are concerned about their own children's safety," Lucius probed, really just wanting to know if any hint of his own involvement had been discovered.

Severus considered the question for a good minute before providing him with an answer. "The aurors know how Potter was murdered, the goblets were switched due to the Valentine's Day celebrations, unfortunately, this meant that there were no detection charms on the replacement goblets or plates, allowing poison to be slipped into their cups. Two of the house elves responsible for the goblets were later found dead. They currently suspect Peter, but they don't know how he managed to infiltrate the school. They are currently questioning the dwarves that were wandering around the school, as well as Professor Lockhart, since it was his order to swap the cups. I believe, he'll be used as a scapegoat in the end," he merely nodded again in understanding.

"So the security breaches have been sealed then?" he asked, wanting to make the conversation seem as legitimate as possible, in case he was ever questioned about it later on."Yes, Lucius, they have, so you can tell our friends that their children are safe," Severus voiced.

"Indeed, they will be comforted to know that their children are safe... Any idea why young Longbottom lived when Heir Potter was killed?" He asked, fishing for more information.

"Neville was simply closer to the hospital wing. He received far quicker treatment, while Potter was much further away, outside in the greenhouses during herbology," Severus answered plainly.

"So just luck then," he noted.

"Indeed. Luck seems to be one thing the Boy-Who-Lived seems to have no end of," the potion master replied.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your work. Come by the manor sometime if you get a chance, we can talk properly over a drink," he offered, before breaking the floo connection.

**12 Grimmauld Place - ****Sunday**

His lips curled in wicked amusement as he read his very own obituary in theSundaymorning edition of the Prophet; of how the beloved and rising magical prodigy, Harry James Potter, had been brutally poisoned before his time within Hogwarts' unbreakable walls two days earlier. He had to admit, Rita had excelled wonderfully in her task, the article was truly heart wrenching, the public sure to respond with predictable outrage at the crime. The skilled reporter even carefully showed the world just how easily more students could have been killed, if any other student had drunk from either his goblet or Neville's for instance. Highlighting the threat to their own children and their possible deaths as well, was a stroke of genius. Even if they didn't particularly care about his death, they most certainly cared about their own children dying.

Naturally, the vultures were already stirring, circling around him and his 'dead house,' like it was a rich, meaty corpse just right for the taking, undefended, baking and festering in the brutal sun. Several of them had already discreetly made enquires to his account manager. Thankfully he had had the foresight to inform his account manager of the plot beforehand, so Bloodmoon was well prepared to stall them with time consuming procedures and social protocol. He couldn't wait for the greedy vultures to get close, to think that they were just about to get their hands on his prized house and titles, just for him to stir, like an angry tiger waking from a long nap, its sharpened claws ready to slash and tear at the first bird that tried to take a bite at his still breathing corpse. He would exact his own pound of flesh from them.

A shiver of excitement and bloodlust ran down his spine at the delicious thought, before his mind turned back to the interesting and highly informative spell book he was reading. The book contained a study on familiars bonds and how said bonds developed, formed, and evolved over the passage of time. He dutifully noted down the key facts as he read. After all, there was a deadly and ancient basilisk lurking beneath the school and _he_ was a parselmouth, a snake speaker, a wizard whose magic could command and control such a deadly creature. In addition, he also had Slytherin blood in his veins, however diluted it might be, meaning in many ways the Basilisk was rightfully an inheritance, of sorts, one that fell to him now.

Then there was the selfish fact that he'd rather be the one controlling such a dangerous, but extremely rare creature, rather than allowing another misguided fool to. He could see it already, someone like Neville taking control of the creature. But fortunately for him, the boy seemed to have a fear of snakes, or at least a strong dislike for anything remotely snake related. Thankfully, he didn't have that problem, and to him, snakes were a logical choice for a guardian since he could simply talk to them, even if he couldn't gain the full allegiance of a basilisk.

He was actually in the process of locating someone who could get him a hydra, or hydra eggs as a backup plan, he didn't really care which as both had benefits and drawbacks. A mature hydra could be of immediate use to him and could be put towards guarding many of his interests. It could also be used to harvest from it some rather rare and high value potion ingredients to help defray the high maintenance and carrying costs of such a large magical creature. However using an adult hydra would make it far more difficult to gain its loyalty, especially after being in the wild so long and knowing freedom.

The opposite was true for a hatchling. He could easily gain its loyalty just by being its 'mother/father figure' from birth, leading to a much deeper bond. Unfortunately that would take a great deal of time, and a one foot snake doesn't really make much of a guardian. It's not even all that scary, just a cute snake really, at least until it grows a couple of extra heads, and could breath clouds of toxic poisons.

**Midnight Lord**

**Warehouse, Outskirts of London **

"I'm not sure I can do this," Peter complained once again, as Kingsley gave him another piercing look, silencing the man's complaints.

Towering over Peter with his impressive physical form helped increase the impact of his next words, "You're the one who offered to turn informant Peter," Kingsley quietly spoke, his dark features turning serious as he confronted the murderer. "Need I remind you that there are plenty of free cells in Azkaban just waiting for you if you're having second thoughts," he threatened.

"Plus you'll have cuddly dementors as your permanent roommates; they can give you nice warm cuddles in the mornings, afternoons, evenings. Pretty much all day, everyday, actually, maybe even a midnight kiss," Adam voiced with amusement as Peter flinched, Kingsley giving him a stern look which said 'shut the fuck up and get on with your job.'

"No, no, I'll do it," the pale white Peter voiced quickly in agreement, the alternative not at all appealing.

"Good," Kingsley agreed, giving Peter a warning look, which clearly said, 'don't mess me about.'

The team medic then stepped forward, "Here take these, it will help," Catherine offered flatly, whilst carefully handing Peter a couple of vials. "The first one is a modified calming draught, not standard issue." Catherine offered, with a reassuring smile. "While it's a weak one, it will help keep your fears in check during the meeting," Kingsley smiled warmly at her for the excellent idea. He'd accept any method to increase the chances for success here. "The second one is a rare little potion called liquid luck. As the name suggests it will make you incredibly lucky for a short time," Catherine explained, gesturing to the small vial with a golden mixture within.

"I know what it is, but I've never used it before," Peter voiced, examining the golden liquid, before adding, "It's _extremely_ difficult to brew. Every step has to be just perfect, down to the second even. There is absolutely no room for error, otherwise it becomes a very potent poison," the criminal voiced sheepishly, as the nearby aurors gave the rat animagus curious looks, which caused Peter to shift uneasily under their attention. "Potions was my only good subject at Hogwarts."

Catherine offered Peter another smile, "Indeed. You have nothing to worry about; this batch was already tested. Together they _should_ help you get the information we need. You just need to keep it together. Just remember, you have a pardon at the end of this, whatever you say, no matter how incriminating, won't matter, as long as we get Lord Malfoy. That's the only thing that matters. No Lord Malfoy, means no pardon, and you spend the rest of your life in a cell with dementors for best friends."

"And we might just let you keep that gold Malfoy promised you," Adam expressed as Peter's face suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree at the prospect of all that gold. It would be useful during his exile if he was successful. "That's if you do a good job."

Kingsley decided to keep his mouth shut on the matter, since he knew that there was no way in hell that Peter would be walking away with such valuable evidence. After all, this was the type of evidence the Ministry could easily misplace and the Order could certainly use it to bolster their diminished war chest.

"Peter, you _should _take them now," gesturing to the vials with a wave of his hand. "It's almost time," he announced, making sure that the rat understood that it was an order, rather than a deniable request, as he turned to address his men. "Get everyone into position, the party will be starting soon," his fellow Aurors began to move to their pre-designated positions.

**Warehouse, Ground Floor**

He watched as a rat timidly appeared from behind a stack of wooden storage crates, its little head carefully scanning the room for any dangers by sniffing the stale air, before it slowly made its way across the plain concrete floor towards him. He couldn't help but smile at watching Peter's natural behaviour; it was so amusing. Once the rat animagus was satisfied he was safe it silently shifted back into its human form. His lips curled in disgust as he noticed that the man's clothes had certainly seen better days and rather smelled.

He watched as the rat-like wizard in question waved his wand, his lips moving quietly whilst casting a cleaning charm to removed the accumulated grime from his faded robes, before sniffing himself, his features shifting to disgust before casting another spell to obviously deal with the smell.

"Ah Peter, my old friend. I must say, I didn't think you had the nerve to actually kill the Potter_ brat_, especially after all of your other failures," he announced in greeting, a cruel smile appearing on his features, as he strolled leisurely through the empty muggle warehouse on the outskirts of London.

"What can I say Lucius, it was him or me. I have no interest in going to jail and I need gold so I can keep running. Just like it was with the _other_ Potters; you gave me a choice, betray them and serve You-know-Who as a spy, or die. But I too am surprised the plan actually worked," Peter expressed with a shrug, his beady eyes watching the ruthless lord.

"Indeed, but you did have some outside help," Lucius confirmed, as he looked around the warehouse for anything out of place while still keeping the rat man in sight.

"No I didn't," Peter countered.

"No, you idiot, the goblets were switched, that's why your poison worked. I had the goblets swapped," Lucius snarled back.

"You did?" Peter stated, his rat like face morphing into a look of confusion.

He made eye contact with Peter once he finished his discreet scan, "Of course I did, after your many failures, I decided to give you a hand. Hence you're only getting half of what we agreed."

"What?! I didn't ask for your help!" Peter protested.

"The moment you messed up your first attempt you got me involved Pettigrew;, it was meant to be clean, but you messed up. So I had to step in," Lucius countered. "You get half, that's final. I was the one who provided you the names of those poison suppliers. Besides, you should be proud of yourself Peter, many wizards have tried to kill the Potters over the long centuries, but it was _you_ who succeeded where so many others have failed. How many people can say that they ended such an ancient line? You also almost got the Boy-Who-Lived too."

"That was an accident; I don't know how that happened," Peter muttered, before his face brightened like a light bulb. "That was you!"

"As far as the world is concerned it was your doing, Peter Pettigrew, master assassin," Lucius countered smugly, as Peter suddenly looked around.

"Something wrong Peter?" Lucius enquired, catching onto Peter's nervousness, the smile disappearing from his face, as he discreetly checked his surroundings again.

"No, nothing wrong, Lucius, I just heard a cat," Peter quickly replied, before offering a reassuring smile. "You know how it is; an animagus receives part of their animal's instincts, hence every purr makes me jump," Lucius couldn't help but chuckle at the embarrassing confession.

"I also have Aurors after me, and they've almost caught me several times now, and I have only got away by getting lucky. I've had to lose them in the sewers a few times now. So I don't like staying out in the open too long. Can we get on with this? I really need to get out of the country," Lord Malfoy nodded in understanding, accepting the reasonable explanation.

"Fine," Lord Malfoy muttered with a disappointed sigh. "I need get to back to the Ministry anyways, before I am missed. The Minister can be such a drain, but he needs me to help him decide policy measures," Peter nodded in understanding.

"How are you here then? Shouldn't you be at the ministry?" Peter asked.

"Time Turner," the death eater offered, clearly expecting the answer to be self explanatory.

"What's that? I've never heard of it," Peter pushed eagerly.

He decided to indulge Peter's curiosity, since he rarely got a chance to brag about his masterful plans. Plus he was in a damn good mood with the death of the Potter brat, and the Chief Warlock's increasingly weakening position. "A time turner is a rare and powerful magical artefact. It allows the user to spin back time, up to eight hours per day. It's a rather useful little device to have on hand," Lucius expressed with a sly smile, holding up the golden hourglass. "As far as the Minister is concerned, I'm currently sitting faithfully by his side as he talks to the German ambassadors about the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. Even Madam Bones is sitting there giving me the evil eye, thus confirming I was there. I couldn't really ask for a better alibi than having the head of law enforcement and the Minister right there with me, now could I?"

Smiling, "No, I guess you couldn't," Peter grudgingly admitted, as Lord Malfoy stuffed the time turner away.

"Do you have it?" Lucius asked eagerly, as he once again walked around the warehouse, looking for anything he might have missed.

"Of course," Peter said firmly, like he was insulted at the mere suggestion, before pulling out of his cloak a finely crafted and ornately decorated box made of ivory. He carefully opened its lid, revealing his deceased master's wand. "Do _you_ have the gold?" Peter challenged, as Lucius sent him a warning look, causing him to look away in seeming submission.

"Of course I do, what do you take me for, a Weasley?" Lucius spat as Peter's face redden at the not so subtle insult.

"No, just wanted to make sure," Peter quickly answered, looking a bit sacred. "It just seemed like the right thing to say," causing Lucius to shake his head in amusement.

**Midnight Lord**

Kingsley couldn't help but widely grin as he and his team of well respected Aurors silently watched and listened to the unfolding exchange between Peter and Lord Malfoy. Damn, that rat could make people talk, he mentally concluded. His quiet doubts about Peter's ability to get incriminating evidence from the Malfoy Lord slipping away as he silently listen to the exchange. The DMLE certified and tamper proof recording quills were noting down each and every incriminating word the death eater spoke, digging his hole that much deeper.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw one of the Prophet reporters likewise noting down the unfolding scene gleefully. This arrest was going to make both of their careers, just like the Chief Warlock had promised it would.

He could already see his promotion; he just had to time his arrest right. He watched Peter reveal his former master's wand to Lord Malfoy. Before suddenly a terrified house elf appeared, holding a good sized wooden chest. Lord Malfoy slowly and melodramatically pulled back the lid revealing a pile of shiny gold galleons.

**Midnight Lord**

Lucius watched as Peter waved his wand over the chest filled with gold, before casting several more spells. "What are you doing Peter?!" he spat, as he held his master's wand, feeling a tad foolish for openly idolizing his master's former wand in front of the rat. He discreetly put the treasured item away, before Peter noticed his lack of proper decorum.

"Just checking the gold Lucius," Peter offered, his eyes shining with greed, a smug smile on his lips.

"You doubt my word of honour?" Lucius responded, his voice dropping to a dangerous tone.

"Of course I don't, Lucius," Peter offered quickly, trying to produce a smile, but not quite successful.

"But I know I'm a loose end, and I can link you to all of this. I know what you do with loose ends; you tie them up, neatly, and normally with someone's death." Peter expressed. "You also once happened to poison a chest full of gold during the war, if I recall. It was a rather clever ploy, and I have no desire to fall for the same tactic," he rewarded the rat animagus with an amused smile as that was quite true. "Who was it again? The Jones? Or was it the Williams brothers?" snapping his fingers in the air, as if desperately trying to recall their names. "The Gilfs?"

"It was the Gibbons brothers _you_ idiot," Lucius spat back in annoyance, as he reigned in his temper. "However, you are right, it was one of _my_ most ingenious schemes," he admitted proudly, enjoying the rare chance to boast of one of his most successful schemes. "Yes, the Ministry even blamed the Goblins," Peter replied with a quiet chuckle, causing him to join in. After all, Peter was right about how he tied up loose ends, as Peter would be dead by the next morning if his cleanup plan worked out.

"All part of the grand plan," he admitted with a sly smile, the fond memories of war flowing back from his youth. "You have to remember that at the time the Ministry was trying get another loan from the little beasts. This murder soured that and ensured the Ministry remained woefully underfunded to successfully fight a war with us. They couldn't even afford good body armor for their aurors!"

"Who is _this_ guy?" Adam spat, asking the group of them in disbelief at hearing the confession.

"A cold hearted killer," Kingsley spat, reminding the group just what type of man Lord Malfoy was. "But be quiet, focus on what they're saying." The Auror ranks quieted, eagerly listening to even more crimes the death eater was unwittingly confessing to. "If we pull this off, it will be promotions all around," he encouraged.

'I'm_ so_ going get a promotion,' he told himself, as Peter continued to play his part, easily drawing out even more crimes that they could use against the man, as Peter secured the chest of they would spring their trap. He just hoped that the reporters with them caught Malfoy's shocked expression on camera, as Lord Malfoy's world came crashing down around him.

**Warehouse Roof**

Rita was having such a wonderful day, as she passionately recorded each and every word of the unfolding meeting, excitement and energy flowing through her veins as her cameraman next to her discreetly took incriminating pictures of Lord Malfoy and Pettigrew together. Pictures which would soon fill the many pages of the Daily Prophet.

This was every reporter's dream come true, a groundbreaking story, just there, ripe for the picking. She relished the thought of how much misery she was about to cause that insufferable prick Malfoy who had gotten away with everything for years.

Damn, she was going to get a bonus for sure. She just couldn't wait to tear into the almighty Lord Malfoy with glee, as she was already planning her article.

Her orders from her vengeful Lord were simple and to the point: her master wanted Lord Malfoy utterly destroyed, his family name discredited, his ancestral legacy tainted for all time, his status and position dismantled.

In short, her young master wanted the Malfoy name and family influence to be ruined forever.

At first, she had considered it a rather tall order, but after all the dirt the self important pureblood was letting slip through his careless lips, anything seemed possible now. Maybe even the dementor's kiss for the man.

For years she had not been able to truly touch the Malfoys, only being able to strike out at them with carefully worded gossip pieces due to their friendly nature with her boss and the regular extravagant gifts he received from them. That would all be changing now with this damning evidence. She just couldn't wait to bring them low.

To make things even better, her Lord had even given her permission to attack Lady Malfoy's character as well. Oh, how she hated that arrogant bitch, who seemed to have a permanent cock stuck up her ass. For years she had been protected, but now she was exposed to the world without a powerful patron to protect her. And now it was Rita's job to bring her low. It was times like these when she remembered why she so loved her job.

Then she also had the chance to do exclusive 'interview' pieces with Harry once his return to life came out, causing her to almost purr in excitement. She could write dozens of sob stories from it, painting her Lord as an innocent heir, a war orphan caught in the crossfire of these games of power. It wouldn't take much effort at all to turn the lad into a national sob story, one of woe and heartache, of an orphan simply trying to make a life for himself. All the ground work had already been laid over the past year, by herself in fact, with carefully scripted character articles. First, with the stories of him freeing his wrongfully imprisoned godfather, followed by him and his godfather making donations to Hogwarts' Quidditch teams out of a sense of fair play, and finally to him being a calm and respectful heir at the Ministry's New Year's ball.

Of course, her Lord was far from the innocent she wrote him as; she _knew_ that first hand, after she had been forcefully manipulated into servitude. However, it really hadn't been as bad as she had expected. She had only been given a few general rules on her conduct, but he had otherwise left most of her freedoms intact as long as she did what she did best. He even generously compensated her when she did a particularly good job and had helped revamp her image with a new wardrobe. The uptick in the respect she was shown after that move proved that it had been a great idea.

That was fine with her, after all she enjoyed her job, especially at moments like this as she eagerly listened to Lord Malfoy and Peter talk about the cursed diary he had given Ginny Weasley.

"_I love my job_," she muttered, as her cameraman looked over to her, his eyes lingering on her body, as she pressed herself close to the roof, ignoring his primal stare, as she carefully watched through the window. "Hayden, _focus_, you can check me out later. And if you get some particularly nice shots, I might _just_ reward you." She purred sensually.

"Yes Ma'am," Hayden eagerly replied, focusing back on the job at hand.

'Idiot,' she mentally muttered, but feeling rather horny all the same.

**Midnight Lord**

**Hogwarts**

Marching through the halls of the school, her school now, her young impressionable charges scattered before her like leaves in the wind, much like they did whenever Severus stalked the halls.

She was now _the_ Headmistress to them, the queen of this realm, with the power to decide their fates. How she had long dreamed of this day, of having the real power to correct the many deficiencies she saw in the school, deficiencies that had developed under the previous headmaster's stewardship.

However, a part of her still couldn't quite believe that she was now _the _Headmistress. She had never considered for a moment that she would get the chance to govern the school as long as Albus lived. She knew that Hogwarts was his pride and joy and that he wouldn't surrender it willingly to anyone, even her. The sad fact was that Albus' attention had always been divided between the school and his many powerful political offices, with the day-to-day running of the school falling squarely into her lap, but yet receiving none of the benefits of effectively acting like the school's head. In fact she had effectively been doing three full time jobs, acting as the school's de facto Headmistress, the Deputy Headmistress, and her other jobs of Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House.

Nevertheless, she knew that she had Albus' backing as his chosen successor. It was either that or let the school fall under the control of the governors, and indirectly Lord Malfoy. Despite her eagerness to prove herself, she heard silent whispers mirroring her own private fears, of not being able to cope with her new role, of not being able to fill the Headmaster's impressive shoes.

Fortunately enough, Filius had generously provided her with the answer she needed to hear. 'Don't even try to fill Albus' shoes Minerva, they are just too big. Instead, wear heels or boots that fit you.'" Hogwarts' new deputy headmaster sagely advised.

She had to once again acknowledge why the charm's master was the head of Ravenclaw house, with such simple, but highly effective wisdom to dole out. With that in mind and fully acknowledging her stern character, she went about enforcing old rules which had been ignored these past decades and setting up new rules of student conduct. These rules covered what behaviour was acceptable at Hogwarts, like for instance banning discriminatory and inflammatory terms like 'mudblood.'

There were already a couple of students serving detention, who had decided to tested her resolve; she was going to be a firm hand and enforce strict discipline on her charges to cull such distasteful behaviour. Unfortunately, with her rise to power, quite a few of her own former charges in Gryffindor house had decided to try their luck, resulting in several fights and impromptu duels with the Slytherin students.

Naturally, as it was her own new policies she had put in place, she had to lead from the front and make an example out of these misbehaving students. Now several of her former lion cubs were serving a practical detention with Argus, and were quickly learning how to scrub floors clean with mops and buckets for the next week. Not even Severus had called her out on it, which was an odd, but rather nice change. The message was quite clear to the rest of the school, she wouldn't tolerate misbehaviour and she wouldn't play favourites.

Then again, the potion master was probably more concerned with his suddenly exposed position and didn't want her to set her sights on him. After all, it was no secret that she had been expressing disapproval with his teaching methods for years, so naturally Severus was keeping his head down and nose clean. However, right now she had a mystery to solve.

For some reason, a Lord's chambers were being used. These special rooms were created to house visiting Lords or officials who were coming to Hogwarts for an extended stay, or by a select few students taking up their ancestral Lordship during their school years, and needed private quarters so they could conduct family business with the required privacy. Or they could be used by married students currently attending the school, but that hadn't happened in over forty years. Apprentices could also use them if they were studying for their _mastery_ within the school under the oversight of a professor. But as far as she was aware, none of those circumstances applied to the school at the moment, so there was no reason for these rooms to be in use.

What was even more interesting was that the quarters were located in a disused part of the school, on the upper levels where students rarely ventured anymore. Arriving in the general area, she looked around for a discernible door guardian as she still wasn't quite sure where the room was located, before settling on a stern looking stone statue of a knight, its sword drawn from its scabbard, ready to attack.

"As the Headmistress of this school, I order you to stand aside and grant me access," she commanded forcefully, but nothing happened. She then heard some giggling behind her.

Spinning around, she noticed several painted girls in an unremarkable portrait watching her with amusement, giggling amongst themselves, much to her own annoyance. She raised a questioning eyebrow at their disrespectful behaviour, and the trio of girls suddenly fell quiet.

She repeated her request to the door guardian only to be completely ignored. Her frown deepened at the disrespect the door guardian was showing her, as she once again heard muted giggles from behind her.

"Is there something funny," she challenged, aggressively stepping away from the stone guardian.

"No headmistress," the trio denied in perfect harmony, giving her a series of too innocent smiles that could be found on any mischievous school girl, no matter the era. 'Maybe I should retire now,' a part of her silently voiced, causing her to give the idea serious thought. 'No, I survived the Marauders, and this is nothing in comparison.'

She was just about to start again with the stone statue, before one of the painted teenage girls asked innocently, "You know that's just a statue right? It's just boring old stone. No magic at all," this answer caused her anger to rise out of sheer embarrassment, like she was a part of some big prank.

Biting off her anger, she turned to fully face the trio. "Do you know where the door guardian is?" she enquired.

"Of course we do," they charmed together in unison, smiling at her like kids holding onto a secret.

"Where is it," she demanded firmly, addressing them like how she would address her own student charges.

"Ask nicely," one of them cooed, a smile on her painted red lips.

"I'm the headmistress of _this_ school, you will answer me, or I'll have you put in storage for the next century and likely forgotten about for longer," she barked, asserting her authority.

"That's not very nice," the third one said sourly, her features fake, almost mocking, reminding her of the Weasley twins.

"No, it wasn't," the first agreed, totally ignoring her, despite her threat.

"But you're welcome to try," the leader cooed to her. "But you still won't find the door you seek," the second added. "Even then, you still won't know the password," the third added.

"But first," the leader voiced, preventing her from speaking further. "Meet our friend George," a bang of heavy metal striking the stone floor could be heard, the vibrations running up her aged legs, as she felt a shadow overtake her, her cat like senses screaming at her to move. She slowly looked over her shoulder.

"_Oh, crap_," she breathed, looking up at the massive bronze warrior, its two hands long sword resting in its hands.

"George, she's picking on us," the third one cried.

"She threatened us!" the second one cried.

"She called us ugly!" the leader shouted, as her painted sisters held her as she cried fake tears.

"I'll defend you honourable maidens," the troll sized warrior knight boomed.

Gulping at the size of the magical guardian, she realized that most of her more destructive spells would be useless with a guardian made out of bronze, a magically resistant material. "I'm too old for this." She muttered before another part of her mind answered, 'At least you know why this area of the castle isn't used anymore!'

**Midnight Lord**

**Warehouse**

"Get ready," Kingsley instructed tensely, his wand appearing in his wand when he saw that the meeting was drawing to a close. Turning to his second in command, a satisfied smile gracing his face, "Raise the wards, we have enough for five life sentences at the least," the younger Auror silently nodded his head, an eager grin spreading across his face as their plan came together effortlessly.

"The wards are up and holding sir," the Auror confirmed.

He nodded to the Aurors beside him, who nodded back; Adams giving him a thumbs up.

"Go, Go, Go!" Kingsley suddenly snapped, jumping out from behind his cover, leading the charge across the floor, as over a dozen Aurors leapt into action, moving in on the pair from all sides and directions.

While meandering across the warehouse floor, he saw a group of Aurors appearing through the stack of crates, Lord Malfoy finally realizing what was going on. Terrible fear suddenly appearing on the 'former' death eater's features, before he desperately tried to disapparate to make a quick escape, just like he always did during the war when things got too hot. However the temporary wards held him firmly in place. His emergency portkey gave him the same results. The death eater drew his wand, spinning around desperately searching for an avenue of escape, but only seeing more Aurors.

Smirking as he approached, "Lucius Malfoy, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit the attempted murder of Harry James Potter and Neville Franklin Longbottom, attempted murder of the same, the murder of Octavius and Reginald Gibbons, membership in a terrorist organization, treason against your government, possessing and dealing in the dark arts, the masterminding of the attacks on Hogwarts and its students, assaulting law enforcement officers, assisting known criminals, and the use of a Class 5 restricted temporal artefact in the commission of a crime," Kingsley proclaimed proudly, a vicious and victorious smile on his features, as his men surrounded the pair. However, all of their wands focused on their main target the much more dangerous Lord Malfoy. "Drop your wand on the floor and come quietly and you will not be harmed!" Malfoy's lips curled up in hate. The intrepid reporter and his cameraman attached to them suddenly appeared moments later, the latter already snapping off pictures as he went.

"Lucius Malfoy drop your wand this instant or you will be forcefully disarmed!" Kingsley yelled, doing his best to do everything by the book, as the reporter recorded the arrest. "There is no need for this to get bloody," the Death Eater gave him another hateful look, before his attention moved to Peter standing to one side, realization sinking in.

"Peter, you set me up!" Lucius shouted, his face twisted and distorted with pure, insane rage, his wand spinning to face his betrayer, the tip of his wand glowing dangerously.

"Of course I did Lucius," Peter voiced with a smirk. "You don't leave loose ends do you, you would have had me killed as soon as this meeting was over. It was you or me my friend, just like it was with the Potters."

"Lucius Malfoy drop your wand now!" he barked, snapping the death eater's attention back to him, as Lucius' hate filled eyes connected with his own. "This is your last chance, drop your wand now, or you will be disarmed."

Just then another familiar face appeared out of nowhere, one that had destroyed or otherwise ruined numerous others' careers, Miss Rita Skeeter, with her own cameraman in tow. He notice both groups of reporters sending each other heated looks, probably at the realization they would have to share this whale of a story, before turning their combined attention back to story at hand.

'Just great, this had been going so well too,' Kingsley mentally groaned at the unexpected sight of the feared reporter, even Lord Malfoy seemed to cringe at the sight of her. He pointed his wand more firmly at the criminal lord, who was coiling like a snake readying to strike.

"This is your last chance Lord Malfoy, drop your wand," he repeated for the sake of Rita, not wanting Rita to paint him as an overzealous auror officer.

**End of Chapter**


	41. Y2 Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated M.**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 41 Aftermath**

**Posted 30th November 2013**

**Revised and ****Beta'd by 'Joe Lawyer'**

"This is your last chance Lord Malfoy, drop your wand now!" the overeager auror demanded as his eyes darted around the disgusting muggle warehouse, desperately looking for any way to escape, but finding none. He was trapped liked a rat.

For a short moment he considered trying to fight his way out of this clever trap, but the realist in him knew that he was hopelessly outnumbered by the highly trained aurors. He could potentially cast one or two quick and dirty spells before their combined spells, even if non-lethal, would simply overwhelm him. So fighting his way out was a pointless, useless gesture, which would result in nothing but further embarrassment for him and an increase in the charges that would surely be brought against him.

On the other hand, he knew that the aurors now had more than enough evidence to successfully arrest and prosecute him, thanks to his own foolishly and uncharacteristically loose tongue. Thus the idea of fighting to escape and quite possibly dying in the attempt was becoming a more and more attractive option; the alternative was spending the rest of his life in a cold, dank prison cell, with dementors slowly sucking the happiness, life, and magic out of him.

If he died before being formally interrogated, prosecuted and convicted, though, his house could possibly survive his folly relatively unscathed. And maybe his remaining 'allies' could even use his violent death to paint the arresting aurors as overzealous and uncivilized, giving him a final stab at the department's credibility from beyond the grave, whilst destroying their future career prospects. That would be a delicious bit of posthumous revenge.

Bracing himself for battle, he pointed his wand aggressively at the cocky lead auror, "If you want it, come and get it blood traitor!" he bravely challenged, using his anger to bolster his courage, while waving them on with his free hand.

He watched as the lead auror smiled back at him confidently, certain of his victory, as a suddenly ingenious idea popped into his mind. It would even be better than dying in a hail of spellfire.

"If you're sure Lord Malfoy," the auror stated, his tone mocking before turning to his men. "Stunners and disarming charms only people, I want him alive!"

No sooner had the first words left the auror's mouth that the first of many powerful red stunners came rushing towards him, with several green disarming charms added to the mix. Long honed battle instincts kicked in as he summoned up a quick shield to block the spells, but instead of fighting back against the aurors he pointed his wand unerringly at his own head.

"_Obliviate!" _he bravely shouted at the top of his lungs, channelling as much power into the spell as possible, even as he lowered his own protective occlumency shields around his mind so that the spell would work. The memory charm quickly took hold, and he felt the odd sensation of his mind suddenly becoming empty and confused.

Unfortunately the quickly conjured shield he had summoned moments prior buckled and collapsed under the powerful volley of spells. He mutely watched in confusion as dozens of powerful stunners hit him and his whole body went suddenly slack. His body fell to the ground like a puppet with its strong cuts even as another spell hit him square in the face, his mind already shutdown.

...

...

..

..

.

Opening up his eyes, he looked up at a pretty face staring intently at him. "He's awake sir," the pretty face said, before she looked intently into his eyes like she was searching for something. "But his eyes are distant, foggy... I think he's a vegetable sir. We need to take him to St. Mungos immediately!"

"FUCK!" the second voice yelled, as several flashes happened around him.

"Sir! Pettigrew bolted!" another voice added.

"What?!'" the second voice bellowed again, as he looked towards the source of the sound, only to see a dark ugly man looking at another.

"He's taken the gold too!" another voice added.

"_Fuck_! You motherfucking incompetent morons! Find him right now!" the second voice screamed.

"Fuck?" he asked, finding the word decidedly odd on his tongue, as a red stream of light rushed towards him and he knew nothing more.

**Law Enforcement Department**

He shifted anxiously under Madam Bones' angry one eyed stare, he knew _that look_, it was a look that he had luckily only seen a couple times during his career, and it immediately put him on edge. "What happened Kingsley? How could you let Pettigrew escape? How could you let Malfoy obliviate himself? Why in Merlin's name didn't you just stun Lord Malfoy right off the bat, before he even knew you were there?!" his angry boss demanded, even as she paced around her office like a caged animal with too much aggressive energy, a clear sign of just how badly he had fucked up.

Thinking about his answer, he knew he couldn't lie or obfuscate about what really happened, unfortunately that wasn't an option with so many witnesses to the day's events, especially with several reporters being present during the arrest. "I wanted to arrest Lord Malfoy following the strictest of procedures, so that he wouldn't have the ability to cause us any trouble down the road, especially with several reporters watching," he argued, not wanting to admit to his boss that he had been showboating for the cameras, too caught up in the idea of the fame, promotion and raises to follow successfully arresting Malfoy.

"Miss Skeeter also unexpectedly turned up; her presence distracted me and my team at a crucial juncture," he added, deciding to try to pass some of the blame onto the notorious reporter that had been dogging the department for years.

"I think someone within the department tipped her off; a source inside would explain how she always gets that hot story," he added, knowing his boss loathed spies and moles within her department.

However his attempts to distract his boss from his own failures and distribute some of the blame were for nought, as his boss gave him a disappointed look, a look that told him just how far he had fallen far in his boss' eyes. "You should know by now to expect the unexpected, that is the first rule they teach about plans like these, they often don't last beyond first contact with the enemy," she countered. "Lord Malfoy was always going to cause trouble Kingsley, no matter how you arrested him or what procedures you followed or didn't follow. You should have known that and simply stunned him on the spot, before he could react and even realize you were there, then make up a believable justification afterwards for it. I would have been able to cover for you and your team as long as we had him alive and in custody. The manner you arrested him wouldn't have mattered a whit to anyone as long as he was brought to trial, the papers would have been too busy denouncing his many crimes to give a shit about how you stunned him quickly. I would have given you a minor, off the record warning, a slap on the wrist, or a desk job assignment for a couple of days if I was wrong and anybody made a stink about it," his boss explained patiently, as she thoughtfully took her seat.

He silently watched as his superior forcefully took a calming breath, before continuing with her rant. "Instead, we now have Lord Malfoy in the hospital not even able to remember his own birth name for more than a couple minutes at a time, due to the combined spell effects of so many overpowered stunners hitting him at once and the interruption of the memory charm spell. Now that's something I can't simply ignore and sweep under the rug. This has 'colossal fuck-up' and official internal inquiry written all over it!"

"Now he's useless to us; even though we now have hard evidence and what amounts to be an incontrovertible confession, we can't question him under veritaserum. We also can't use him anymore to identify and arrest his co-conspirators, as was our original intention, or to prove the guilt of those Death Eaters in the Wizengamot who escaped prosecution. Furthermore, we still have an unknown assassin out there and Pettigrew escaped with the gold, robbing us of some hard evidence. It wasn't a huge amount of gold, but certainly enough that he can afford to go into hiding for good now."

Seeing that she was just about to continue her rant, he held up his hands in surrender. "Yes, I get it, I fucked up boss," he voiced regrettably, admitting his fault, knowing that his boss would still likely give him a second chance. "Now, can we please move on?" His boss gave him a warning look for interrupting her.

"Kingsley, '_fucked up'_ is a gross understatement for the shit storm of trouble you're in right now," she stated firmly, as she ran her hand through her hair. "The only hope we have of salvaging some of this mess, is the possibility of finding enough hard evidence at his home that we can tie him even more firmly to his crimes, even then it may only mean financial fines. Unless he miraculously recovers in time for the trial, I doubt he'll ever see the outside of the long-term spell damage ward at St. Mungos."

Madam Bones sighed, before continuing on. "Take a small team to Malfoy Manor; here's an arrest and search warrant for the manor and for Lady Malfoy. Perhaps she can give us some evidence or even better, make a deal to avoid prison," she muttered whilst placing a scroll upon the desk, which he readily accepted before marching towards the door.

"Don't fuck this up Kingsley, otherwise I can't help you. We'll talk about your future career prospects with this department as soon as you return. For your sake, you better not screw this up," his boss warned, her voice cold and hard.

**Malfoy Manor**

The heavy black iron gates opened automatically for him as he lead his sober faced squad down the stone path to the Malfoy family manor, the dark mansion stood off in the distance as his eyes darting side to side looking for any sign of danger. This was meant to be a day of celebration for him, of finally catching a dangerous and powerful criminal in the act so that the man would finally see justice. Instead it had turned into an unmitigated disaster, with Lord Malfoy memory charming himself into outright stupidity and Pettigrew bolting with the gold during the confusion. He still wasn't sure how that even happened.

He had cocked up big time, messing up all of Madam Bones' carefully laid plans, and now his career as an auror was on the line as a result. If he failed in the simple task Madam Bones had given him to redeem himself, his career was all but over for good, not even the Chief Warlock would be able to help him.

After all, he knew very well how the Ministry worked; they would need a scapegoat to explain away this mess, someone to blame, and he was the prime candidate for that role, since he was the one leading the mission. His situation wasn't helped by the fact that the press had been there to record his failure for posterity.

He turned his focus back to his current mission; old family manors were extremely dangerous, far more dangerous than any old house he raided during his career as an auror. Taking into account that Lord Malfoy was an extremely dangerous individual with his own inordinately dangerous enemies to defend against, he didn't doubt for a second that the murderer could have highly illegal and deadly ward schemes set up to protect his home. Even then, many of those lethal wards might actually be legal depending on when they first went active. These old manors had their lethal wards placed centuries ago when it was still legal to put those kinds of protections on a private home, even the ones with a dark magic basis (at least as it was defined now) were allowed centuries back. The purebloods had made certain those wards were grandfathered in under the current law.

However, despite the increased danger such an illegal ward scheme represented, it allowed the possibility of adding an additional charge to the Lord Malfoy's impressively long list of crimes, this would be in addition to whatever other dirty little secrets he and his team could uncover hidden within the manor's walls.

Approaching the imposing front door, which had a massive golden capital 'M' engraved upon it, he quickly knocked. Even though he was here with a search warrant for the home and an arrest warrant for the Lady Malfoy, he wanted to keep this situation as civil as possible, mostly so that she wouldn't activate the manor's active magical defences and potentially kill him and his team. The manor's main door slowly opened, revealing a wide eyed house elf, dressed in a shabby tea towel, "How can Dobby helps sirs?" the house elf asked warily.

"We need to speak with your mistress," Kingsley responded firmly, as the elf nodded back, before quickly disappearing to deliver the message to his mistress.

The next couple of minutes passed in an awkwardly tense silence, as he and his men waited patiently on the doorstep for the Lady Malfoy to appear or to meet their deaths when the wards entered a siege state and tried its best to kill them and likely succeed. It occurred to him after a few minutes that the Lady Malfoy could potentially destroy valuable incriminating evidence during this time, but it was far safer to merely wait, rather than to storm the house, plus it was better manners. The grand oak door slowly opened to reveal the stunning form of Lady Malfoy. "What can I do for you gentlemen?" she asked, her voice aloof, as if she was speaking to common peasants rather than respectable law enforcement officers obviously on official business.

Puffing himself up, he spoke in as officious a tone as possible. "Lady Malfoy, I am here with an official search warrant for your home," he replied, holding out the piece of parchment for her inspection. "I have another warrant for your arrest as well madam. Please surrender your wand."

It took a good ten seconds before the visibly shocked Lady Malfoy composed herself enough to reply, as two aurors moved up to stand by his side wands ready, their tips alight with the crimson red of a stunner. "On what charges?" she demanded to know, with an undertone of fear in her voice that she couldn't quite hide.

"Conspiracy to commit murder," he offered plainly, while discreetly checking out the lady, looking for any sign of resistance or aggressive action.

"Just let me inform my husband, he will sort all of this out," she remarked, clearly trying to buy time or perhaps simply assuming that her husband would be able to wiggle himself out of trouble yet again.

"Madam, your husband has already been arrested on charges, including multiple counts of murder, as well as treason," he replied calmly and professionally, but thoroughly enjoying every moment of this particular arrest. "Now Madam, please come with us peacefully, I'd rather not use force to take you into custody, but I will if you make me."

**Number 12**

Looking up from his extensive notes, he saw his godfather quickly approaching him with a purpose. "Malfoy has _finally _been arrested, the aurors got him a couple of hours ago," Sirius exclaimed happily.

"_Excellent_," Harry responded calmly, as a feeling of relief suddenly washed over him.

Whilst he would never admit it aloud, he knew that he had gotten extremely lucky this year with Pettigrew's early attempts on his life failing so miserably.

"You don't seem too happy with the _good_ news," his godfather noted, noticing Harry's own indifference.

Giving his godfather a relieved smile, he responded. "Don't get me wrong Sirius, I'm happy that Lord Malfoy has finally been caught, but there is still the matter of the other assassin out there and the matter of Lord Malfoy's trial. Despite him being arrested by the aurors, Lord Malfoy will do everything in his considerable power during his upcoming trial to save his neck. I'll openly 'celebrate' this 'victory' when Lord Malfoy and this other unknown assassin are securely locked away in Azkaban with the _dementors_ acting as their wardens. I would be even happier if both of them got the death penalty," he explained calmly. "Only then can you break out the most expensive firewhiskey and brandy."

"That's awfully cold," Sirius voiced.

"Maybe," he agreed, as he tried to come up with the right words to explain his reasoning. "If Lord Malfoy ever escaped or was broken out or was released from Azkaban for whatever reason, he would make it his life's mission to end me, us, to make us suffer. Far better to dispose of him now rather than risk having him terrorize us again in the distant future when our guard is lowered and the man is made a thousand times more dangerous by virtue of having nothing left to lose."

"Sometimes I wonder which of us is the adult; you're always planning ahead and thinking about worst case scenarios," Sirius muttered with a shake of his head. "How's your independent project coming along?"

"Slowly...it is far harder than I expected it to be," Harry answered, as he thought more on the hurdles left to overcome in his grenade project. "But, in hindsight, I put that down more to my own arrogance," this frank admission caused his godfather to grin in amusement at his godson's entertaining self assessment. "I really overestimated my own abilities. It's a bit of a wakeup call."

"Want an extra hand?" Sirius offered.

He considered the advantages and disadvantages of accepting his godfather's aid, before voicing his decision, "No, thank you Sirius. I kind of want to do this myself, for the challenge."

"Can this be used for a prank?" Sirius asked. He mightily resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Perhaps," he answered vaguely, before trying to change the subject. "When am I going to return to Hogwarts?"

"In a couple of days," Sirius responded thoughtfully, as Shadow appeared out of nowhere and jumped onto his lap, demanding attention, whilst giving his godfather an angry hiss.

"I don't think he likes you," he replied mirthfully, as he stroked Shadow's beautiful black fur, giving his cat some loving attention. "What did you do to upset him?"

"Sirius changed into his dog form earlier and chased him around the kitchen and front room," Remus voiced in a disapproving tone, giving his godfather a look.

"Well, I can't exactly chase Harry around the house like I had originally planned, he'll just tear my throat out," Sirius defended, before realizing what he had unintentionally just admitted to, giving Harry an embarrassed look.

Giving his godfather a disapproving look and a slight growl, he chose to ignore the remark about being chased around the house and decided to direct the discussion to more productive topics. "Sirius, could you ask Andy and Ted to come over at their earliest convenience?" he asked.

"Why do you want to talk to them? I assume this has something to do with some legal matter, or something," Sirius asked, becoming serious once again.

"Naturally. I want to discuss with them the potential benefits and consequences of taking up the Potter family lordship, and how it will be affected by my being the Black family heir as well," he explained, deciding not to mention the Peverell Lordship with Remus hanging around. The simple fact of the matter was that he didn't know if he trusted Remus with his private dealings. He never really associated with Remus, with him being at Hogwarts all the time, and the man was seemingly intensely loyal to Dumbledore for some reason. Of course they spent a couple of weeks at Christmas and in the summer living in the same house, but they never really interacted much, with both of them largely just minding their own business.

Their personal relationship was a bit like his relationship with his housemates, polite and well mannered, but not overly personal, just politely civil really. However, he expected that would change in the next year, especially with Remus taking up the DADA position at Hogwarts, requiring the nature of their relationship to change, regardless of how he felt about the matter. It would take an extraordinary act of loyalty, however, for him to trust the man with anything truly important.

"Has Tonks been informed that I'm still alive?" he asked, wondering if his cousin had been informed.

Sirius suddenly looked thoughtful, "No, she hasn't."

**Hogwarts – Headmistress' Office **

Discreetly watching as young Mr. Malfoy entered her new office, the previous headmaster and headmistress' portraits silently watched as the smug lad confidently walked into her office with a swagger, a swagger which matched his murderous father's to a T.

A small part of her was actually looking forward to crushing young Draco's belief in his own self-importance and entitlement, and finally put the troublesome Slytherin in his place. Her thoughts were derailed when the silver candy bowl on her desk once again caught her attention.

That was one very annoying feature of her new desk, specifically the silver candy bowl left behind by her predecessor Albus. The simple silver bowl was a constant reminder of the former headmaster's reign, one that kept silently reminding her of the massive shoes she was trying to fill as the school's new headmistress, which also kept making her think that she wasn't good enough for the prestigious position despite Filius' frequent reassurances and her many years running the school behind the scenes.

Unsurprisingly, she had attempted to remove the offending piece of junk, in fact as soon as she could get away with it, only to find that it was stubbornly stuck to the wooden desk with an unknown, but very powerful sticking charm that had resisted all her attempts to dispel. Once her best efforts to remove the bowl had failed, she had attempted to simply remove the desk entirely and replace it with her own desk from her old office, only for the head teachers' portraits to erupt into loud protests at the action.

It turned out that the desk had been there since the school was first founded, and each head teacher had used the same desk as their own through the many centuries. Hence, she was stuck with the ancient desk and the annoying candy bowl for the time being. Rather than risking offending her predecessors and lose out on their advice and guidance, she merely grit her teeth and bore it. It was curious, though, how they weren't protesting the fact that Dumbledore had made a seemingly permanent modification to this priceless piece of the school's history.

Shifting her attention back to the meeting at hand, she spoke to the young man. "Mr. Malfoy, take a seat," she commanded while gesturing to the chair in front of her desk, as Severus hovered to one side of her office.

Despite being summoned to her new office, the young Slytherin still sported that arrogant sneer, like he owned the place, regardless of the fact that he was now sitting in front of his headmistress at her command.

"Mr. Malfoy, it is my regrettable task to inform you that your father was arrested earlier this afternoon by the Ministry," she explained straight faced to the now stunned boy.

She paused for a moment to allow her words to register, his smugness starting to disappear from his features as the boy finally understood what she had said. "I have not been officially informed of the specific charges, but I've been told that they are extremely serious and that the evidence of his guilt is overwhelming. Unfortunately, due to the extreme nature of the charges your father is being accused of, your mother has also been arrested by the aurors and is in custody as well. Therefore, for the time being at least, your godfather is your acting guardian, until it's been proven that she is innocent and had no knowledge of your father's criminal activities."

"My father? My mother?" Draco voiced weakly, clearly in a state of shock.

"Indeed, they have both been arrested," she confirmed again slower this time.

Watching the shocked lad, her maternal instincts began to surface, regardless of the fact that she strongly disliked the boy in front of her. "I would also advise you to be mindful of how you behave in the next couple of days, since the Daily Prophet has likely been informed of this matter involving your mother and father. I would imagine soon the whole school will know of this affair. Therefore I strongly advise you to keep your head down and stay out of trouble until this matter is resolved, one way or another."

Turning her attention back towards Severus, the man seemed to be rather amused for some unknown reason. This seemed awfully out of character for the man, especially considering this scandalous news involved his close friend and would undoubtedly impact his godson.

She decided that it was time to finally get to the bottom of Severus' unusual behaviour of late. "Professor Snape, please escort Mr. Malfoy back to his common room, then please return here. You and I need to have another chat," she stated evenly.

"Yes headmistress," the gloomy potions master replied, before escorting his silent godson quickly out of the office.

Turning her attention back to the large pile of paperwork resting on her desk, she was realizing more and more in the last couple of days, while actually doing this job, that she had effectively _already_ been running the school as headmistress for the past couple of decades. Albus had merely been just signing off on her decisions and taking credit for her hard work while he played politician, rather than doing his duty as the headmaster of this school.

Severus returned almost an hour later, before taking a seat in front of her desk. "You wanted to see me headmistress?" he asked evenly.

Placing her work to one side, she began. "Yes, I wanted to discuss your recent behaviour," she stated, before giving the resident potion master a stern look. "In our meeting with young Mr. Malfoy, inexplicably, you seemed to enjoy the fact that your best friend had been imprisoned."

"He is _not_ my best friend," the head of Slytherin replied evenly, causing her to give him a confused look which clearly commanded that she wanted him to explain that statement.

"I am not Severus Snape, Madam. I am an auror who has been officially assigned to replace Professor Snape using polyjuice potion," the man in front of her explained, as her mind was reeling at the news. "Professor Snape is currently in the protective custody of the Ministry, and I expect will be returned to the school shortly, now that this assignment is drawing to its end. You should also be aware that Mr. Potter is still alive, and is currently in hiding for his protection," he finished, leaving her in stunned silence.

Quickly, she recovered from her shocked state, before rejoicing at the news of Lily and James' son still being alive. "Did headmaster Dumbledore know of this?" she asked, realizing belatedly she that didn't even know the auror's name.

"Yes, he helped to arrange it," the fake Severus replied, as she suddenly had the alarming realization that she was merely a pawn in a much bigger political game. "Headmaster Dumbledore did not wish for Lord Malfoy to be warned of our investigation through his friend Severus." She merely sat in stunned silence as yet another realization was had about the true state of things. Even after decades of friendship, after steadfastly and loyally fighting side-by-side during the war and working together for so many years thereafter, Dumbledore had chosen not to trust her, to let her believe the son of her two favourite students had been murdered at her beloved school, on her watch. She needed time to think on this more and examine what was true and what was not. Too many of her core beliefs had been challenged as of late and it was leaving her so very angry at being duped for so long.

**Ravenclaw Common Room**

Penny looked up from her homework to see her young charge looking off into the distance, seemingly at some unknown object only she could see. "Luna? Is everything all right? Do you need help with your homework?" she asked, the strange first year suddenly looking at her.

"Oh, fine, just wondering when Harry will be back to school," Luna replied airily, as Penny stiffened.

Trying to play it cool, she quickly looked around the common room for anyone listening in on their discussion, spotting no one. "Why do you say that?" she asked evenly.

"Because he's not dead," Luna replied in the same dreamy tone she always used.

"Why do you believe that?" Penny enquired in mock confusion, trying to play dumb.

Luna gave her another look, an adorable look actually that said 'you're being stupid, but I forgive you' all at the same time. "First, he gave me extra homework to do, like he knew he would be gone for a while. Second, you are suddenly keeping an eye on me, like someone asked you to knowing Harry would be gone. Third, you weren't really upset that your close friend was murdered. You seem far too calm. Fourth, when I answered your earlier question, you panicked. Finally, Professor Snape is not who he says he is, he being far too nice and reasonable." Penny's head began to spin at the odd girl's reasoning.

"Err...you can't tell anyone," Penny replied quickly and immediately cringed, realizing that she had just confirmed the first year's assumption. Luna simply gave her another look which clearly said that she was questioning her intelligence. She felt rather disappointed with herself for failing to keep Harry's secret for not even a week. Her gut began churning slightly uncomfortably at the failure.

However, her annoyance at her failure was interrupted as Luna spoke up again. "Have you and Harry made up yet? He was rather upset that you weren't talking to him." She suddenly felt _very_ guilty.

"I don't know," she answered back quietly.

"I think you should just forgive and forget," Luna offered seriously and rather uncharacteristically for the girl. "How would you be feeling right now if Harry had died for real, giving you no chance to work things out? I think you would be feeling pretty bad and rather regretful."

"Perhaps," she reluctantly agreed, before looking at Luna curiously. "You do know that Harry is extremely manipulative, don't you?"

"And? Just because he's wearing blue and bronze instead of green and silver that's a bad thing?" Luna asked, clearly not caring about the trait, making Penny start to feel rather silly with herself.

"He manipulates his friends," Penny argued, expressing her deepest concern, as her gut started to revolt.

Luna's eyes met her own with a startling intensity. "But he also _cares_ for his friends. He befriended me when no one else did; even my oldest friend from childhood ignored me in favour of her new friends when we arrived here. He helps me with my homework and answers all of my questions to the best of his ability, gives up his limited free time to teach me new spells, and he even stopped people from picking on me so much," Luna expressed in a sad tone. "When he knew he couldn't be there for me he even asked you to keep an eye on me, to take care of me when he couldn't, so is he _really_ a bad person? You know he's manipulative, and so do I, but I don't care, he's still my friend."

Realizing that she was losing this particular battle, she decided to keep her peace on the subject and focus back on her homework.

**Number 12**

Harry lazily waved his wand over his bedroom door, quietly locking the door behind him, quickly followed by a strong silencing charm, both to keep out the noise from his godfather's childish antics and to prevent his godfather from hearing his upcoming conversation with his agent.

Making himself comfortable on his bed, he quickly checked the spy mirrors he had successfully placed around Hogwarts, finding nothing special, just students doing homework, whilst the teachers he had under surveillance were busy marking the latest assignments.

He did pause for a minute to watch Luna and Penny study side-by-side in the Ravenclaw common room, which made him rather proud of himself for getting the pair together, even if it had required him playing on Penny's protective nature. He then switched to another spy glass, then another, and another in sequence. He found nothing else of note, before deciding that it was time to talk to his agent, and get an accurate report on the day's events rather than wait for tomorrow morning's paper.

The sad truth of the matter was that he had outgrown Penny as a mentor in the last couple of months, as he had become more and more self-reliant. Now that he thought more about it, ever since he had first discovered that he was a tiger animagus, he had been growing more independent, more bold and calculating. His perception of the world had also shifted, with him thinking of other individuals more as challengers, competitors, and rivals. He would have to ask Sirius sometime tomorrow if he had experienced something similar.

Even as he patiently waited for Rita to answer his summons, he mentally noted the limitations of the network of magical spy mirrors he had placed around the school. There were so many gaps and holes and missing key areas which needed to be filled, but he still had many years left to develop and refine his spy net. That was the purpose of deploying them at Hogwarts after all, not for the intelligence value, but rather to identify and fix the many bugs left to work out as well as to learn how to best utilize the system in the wider world.

The minutes slowly ticked by, his prodigious patience beginning to wear thin as he waited for his agent to respond. The mirror finally changed to a different view, almost a full quarter of an hour after he had made the call.

"My Lord," Rita greeted, as he forced a neutral expression onto his face.

He took note of Rita's ruffled hair, her uneven glasses, as well as her rather skimpy dressing gown that looked like it had been hastily thrown on, before he spoke. "What took you so long to answer? You're normally rather prompt responding to my summons," he asked, forgoing his usual pleasant greetings whilst wondering if it had been a mistake to relax some of the rules he had placed upon _his_ agent.

Rita seemed to sense his annoyance, despite his neutral tone. "I had a friend around this evening," she answered vaguely, but quickly, as he nodded, expecting that answer as she attempted to nonchalantly straighten her glasses. After all, the strict orders he had given her prevented her from allowing anyone else to become aware of the mirror's communication function or his identity, but also required her to answer as quickly as possible while still preserving the secret.

"A close friend?" he probed, wanting to know more about this person he suspected he'd heard about twice now.

"Yes, my Lord," she replied vaguely.

Something clicked in his mind at her answer; he pulled up the mental file he kept on Rita within his codex. "Is this the same person you mentioned at Christmas? _Malcolm_, if I recall? I suppose _he_ is the reason why you wanted your evenings free," he guessed.

"Yes, my Lord," she confirmed with a sharp nod.

For a second he considered ordering Rita to end the relationship, but eventually dismissed the idea; there was little to be gained by it other than resentment that could lead to rebellion and her work had yet to be affected by the relationship. If her work suffered, he could always change his mind later on. However, that didn't mean he shouldn't know more about the man and the relationship taking up his agent's time, an unknown character who could possibly learn about him and their arrangement whether she wanted him to or not. "Prepare a _full_ biographical file on your friend 'Malcolm' for my review, including the usual portion on exploitable secrets, weaknesses, blackmail material, and the nature of your relationship with him and all relevant details about it. If he's going to be spending time with you then I need to know everything about him. After all, we can't have him distracting you now can we? And Rita, if I find you've left anything out or didn't give this your full effort, there will be _consequences_, do you understand?" This last portion was spoken with deadly seriousness.

Rita's look went from angry and rebellious to defeated within the span of a few seconds, before she responded. "I'll have that for you in a week's time, my lord."

He decided to abandon this issue for now and move onto less contentious topics. "What happened today?" he asked, eager for news of his foe's capture and imprisonment.

Rita quickly relayed the day's events, as his mild annoyance at being kept waiting quickly changed to anger; it became clear that Madam Bones' carefully considered plan had fallen apart rather spectacularly, with Pettigrew doing a runner and Lord Malfoy obliviating himself to the point that he probably didn't even know his own name anymore, making him useless in court, and incapable of revealing the name of the assassin that had tried to kill him or bringing down his fellow Death Eater who remained out of Azkaban. After all, you can't put a man on trial if he couldn't remember his own birth name.

"My Lord?" Rita asked carefully. He realized by her question that he had been quiet for far too long.

He deliberately took a deep breath before responding, as he fought to keep his anger in check. "Carry on with the story as originally planned; and make sure the auror that messed up the arrest and allowed my parents' betrayer to escape is dammed utterly. Do what you do best and tear them apart. Once you're done with everything, I'd like you to prepare a transcript of everything you heard and a copy of the memory for my review."

"Yes, my Lord," Rita quickly agreed, not wishing his malicious mood to be directed at her.

He was just about to close the connection, before another idea suddenly occurred to him. "I also want you to pay a visit to St. Mungo's and take some embarrassing photos of Lord Malfoy," he ordered, deciding to destroy the man's image even further, so even if he did by some miraculous chance recover his memory, he would be utterly humiliated in front of his peers and all of magical Britain. He might even send some of the pictures to Hogwarts prior to publication, to further embarrass Draco; maybe even give the photos to Ron and Neville?

After all, the blonde haired Slytherin was a consummate bully, who threw his weight around whenever possible, so why not give Malfoy's victims and enemies alike some real ammunition to destroy Draco's reputation for good. He knew on some level that he was becoming a bit of a bully himself, but he didn't start this conflict with Draco, he was merely pressing his current advantage. If you wanted to rise to the top, sometimes you had to crush the opposition below you.

"Yes my Lord," Rita agreed, before waiting quietly for further instructions.

"Rita, after you became an animagus, did you notice any behavioural changes? Stronger impulses and the like?" he asked.

"Yes, a couple of minor ones. From what I know about the process, my Lord, such minor changes are normal and to be expected," Rita answered thoughtfully.

Considering her answer, he wondered if due to her being a beetle animagus, her inherited animal instincts were weaker and less pronounced then the changes he had experienced when he successfully became a male Siberian tiger, with all the aggressive instincts of an apex predator. Either way it gave him something to consider to help explain his swift change in behaviour and personality. "Rita, that will be all for now, thank you," he replied as he closed the connection. His mind started to twist and turn, trying to make sense of his sudden shift in behaviour, as several likely theories were considered.

Knowing that he would not be able to sleep now with his overactive mind fully engaged, he silently slipped out of his bedroom and down the hall towards the familiar confines of the Black family library.

**Midnight Lord**

Pulling out his gold plated pocket watch, he casually checked the time, before putting his timepiece back into his pocket. "You can come out now Peter," he voiced good naturedly, as the wanted criminal appeared from the shadows of the bushes.

"How did you know I was there headmaster?" Peter asked curiously, but timidly, as he changed from his rat form and appeared from the undergrowth.

Smiling at the Gryffindor's curiosity and surprise at being detected, he gave an answer. "With all the free time on my hands currently, I spent a couple hours learning how to track and detect an animagus," he answered easily, but keeping his answer vague, rather than share any secrets. While answering he once again discreetly took in his surroundings. Thankfully the numerous wards he had erected around the empty park were telling him that they were alone, but one's own eyes were always good to check with as well, especially with his glasses having several powerful enchantments placed on them. After all, even the very best laid wards could be tricked and altered. "I trust everything went according to plan?"

"Yes headmaster, the port-key worked exactly like you promised it would," Peter replied quietly, before shifting uneasily under the headmaster's gaze, as he skimmed through Peter's surface thoughts with practised ease. "How did you know that Lucius would memory charm himself? Why are you helping me?"

He ignored the first question; after all he wasn't going to mention how he had cast an illegal, but very powerful compulsion upon Lord Malfoy during their earlier meeting, or the use of his own time turner that he had acquired close to 80 years ago.

Instead he went with his long pre-planned reply. The simple truth was that it worked in his favour to help Peter escape. With Peter gone and Lord Malfoy in the hospital, Lady Malfoy was the most likely candidate to be made the scapegoat for all her husband's crimes. A lengthy prison sentence would allow Severus to take over the guardianship of the Malfoy family holdings and Draco's care for the next couple of years at the least. "The reason I helped you Peter is because I believe that you can reform Peter, to redeem yourself, unlike so many others. You were willing to testify in court, to stand up like a true Gryffindor and admit your guilt despite the dangers of retaliation from the other Death Eaters." Peter stood slightly straighter and prouder at his rehearsed words of praise.

"With Lord Malfoy's sudden incapacitation, that deal you made with Madam Bones became useless, and you would have been made into a convenient scapegoat in the end for the aurors' failings. That is hardly fair," he continued, with a disapproving shake of his head as he sat down on the nearby park bench. "You were never the bravest or the strongest out of your friends Peter, but you had the heart of a lion. I know how badly you wanted to be brave and noble."

"Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before Lord Voldemort targeted you." Peter instinctively flinched at the Dark Lord's name. "I should have taken this into account, predicted this tactic of Voldemort and countered it. To my everlasting regret, I didn't," he lamented, as he patted the bench next to him, and Peter took the seat.

He casually looked over towards the sober Gryffindor. "Now, here's another port-key, it will take you to Venice and a safe house maintained by the Order; to activate it merely speak aloud the activation phrase '_second chances_.'" He handed Peter the port-key. "I'll be along in a couple weeks to check up on you and set you to work on some brewing assignments; we might as well put you to work."

"Yes Headmaster," Peter replied, standing up to leave.

"Peter, leave the gold and the wand behind," he added forcefully, before the rat animagus could disappear into the night once again. For a moment it looked like Peter wanted to object, but eventually gave in under his unblinking stare, and left the chest of gold and the wand behind, before disappearing into the night.

The gold would be added to the Order's growing war chest, and some of it would be given to the Weasleys in compensation for what had happened to Ginny. After all, he had to keep his long-time supporters happy and loyal to ensure their continued support in the dark times ahead. Voldemort's wand, in turn, would be used as bait in the years to come, to help draw out the Dark Lord.

After all, a wizard or witch's first wand was a special case, a treasured item of unmatched value that few would willingly part from. Knowing Tom's mentality, he would surely want his precious wand back, since it was what he thought had provided undeniable proof that he was a wizard and not a 'normal' powerless orphan. And the mere thought of it being in Albus' possession, like a trophy of victory, would surely enrage Tom. This would ensure that Tom's first objective upon his return to corporeal form would be reclaiming his wand, allowing him to predict the Dark Wizard's opening moves with far greater precision than normal. And on a darker note, he wanted to check and test the wand, since it could quite possibly be another horcrux.

**Midnight Lord**

**Number 12**

Sirius discreetly watched as his godson sat patiently on the room's brand new leather couch, a large tome taken from the family library in his hands, his eyes darting from side to side as he absorbed the knowledge contained in the ancient magical tome. The young man was absentmindedly tapping his foot on the wooden floor, an unconscious sign of either restlessness, or perhaps a bit of nervousness. It wasn't clear which.

He knew why his godson could be restless; he had been caged up inside the house for three long days so far with no means to burn up his physical energy beyond some light exercises. That was something he could both relate to and envy in equal measure. The boundless physical energy of youth had been robbed from him due to his wrongful imprisonment. He was, of course, still quite young by magical standards, but as he was discovering of late, there were many permanent consequences to being around dementors for so long without reprieve. Every morning his bones ached and groaned in protest, serving as a constant reminder of what he had unfairly lost, of what his misplaced trust in both Peter and Albus had cost him.

He looked at his godson, the closest thing he would ever have to a child of his own, if the specialist healers he had hired were right. 'So much like Lily,' he reflected, seeing more and more of Harry's mother in the lad's personality, and less of his best friend James. "What are you reading?" He asked, wanting to show interest in his godson's studies.

"A study on magical lordship and magical oaths," Harry replied automatically, as he flipped another page.

Harry's short and simple response reminded him of his days at Hogwarts, when he would delight in hounding Lily with annoying questions whenever she was studying in the house common room. "That sounds horribly dull," he replied with his best boyish grin.

Harry placed the old volume down on his lap, just like Lily did whenever she was about to launch into a passionate lecture defending the value of some esoteric piece of knowledge. "It's rather fascinating actually, and answers a lot of very important questions I've had recently."

He recognized the baited tease for what it was. "I'm sure it is," he replied airily, faking disinterest in the subject.

"Really? Well I suppose it could be to some, it only explains how Lord Voldemort came to be so powerful, so quickly," Harry announced. At the name, he flinched out of reflex, even as he mentally digested Harry's shocking statement.

He knew that his godson's words were baited, a lure to capture his attention, but he took it anyways. "What do you mean?"

"I thought you weren't interested?" Harry replied evenly, but the hint of a smug smirk could be seen on his lips. It was a look that clearly said 'I know something you don't know and I'm going to make you beg before I tell you.'

Resisting the impulse to roll his eyes at Harry's teasing, he gave in. "Not normally, but mentioning Lord Voldemort will stir anyone's interest, especially when mentioning the source of his power," he defended. "Now stop teasing me, and share what you know,"

For a moment he thought his godson would toy with him just a bit more, but Harry clearly decided enough was enough and provided an explanation. "It turns out that swearing certain types of magical vows of allegiance, or servitude, creates a magical link between individuals, leading to a small unidirectional power transfer. Some vows result in greater magical energy transfer than others, the amount seemingly based on how submissive the vow was when given. Based on this theory, every time a new Death Eater recruit swore a magical vow to serve Lord Voldemort, Voldemort gained a small passive power boost as a result. Therefore, the more sworn Death Eaters he had in his service, the bigger the passive power boost he received. The Dark Mark might even enhance that power boost as it's a permanent, tangible representation of their service to their lord, Voldemort. That kind of symbolism has a power all its own in magic."

Pondering this new information, a little piece of the puzzle fell into place to explain Lord Voldemort's sudden rise to power during the last war. The more successful Voldemort and his followers were, the more recruits he got. Each newly sworn recruit meant Lord Voldemort became more powerful. More magical power lead to him being more successful in his campaigns. Greater success lead to more allies and resources, which tempted even more wizards and witches to his cause, increasing Lord Voldemort's personal power, which in turn tempted even more recruits. One thing built upon the other. "That is interesting," he voiced, still deep in thought. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Can this passive power boost be removed?" he asked, wondering if the old tome could provide an answer to that question, while making a mental note to read it for himself later on.

"It can be removed rather simply, you just have to kill the individual that swore the oath, or otherwise remove their magic through some other means," Harry answered smoothly. He just nodded, expecting an answer like that.

Harry's answer was rather mercenary, but he was right, that was a simple means to solve the issue. It was then that he noticed a calculating look in Harry's eyes. However, before he could question Harry further, Harry spoke up. "Any news from Gringotts on that locket?"

"Yes, they have returned it and paid the contract penalties for failure, which they were none too happy about, let me tell you. I placed it in the Black family vault for the time being, to keep it safe," he replied with an uncaring shrug. "Also to keep Kreacher from trying to steal it and hide it away somewhere."

"Maybe it's been enchanted to only respond to parsel magic? Maybe I could open it?" Harry said thoughtfully.

"Perhaps," he agreed after some thought on the matter. The fireplace sprang to life moments later, grabbing the pair's attention, as Tonks suddenly appeared in a burst of flames.

"You _bastard_! I thought you were dead! Why didn't you tell me?!" Tonks shouted upon seeing Harry, before pulling Harry into a strong back breaking hug, the sound of soft weeping filling the room.

"I'm sorry; I couldn't tell you," Harry offered back softly as he returned the hug just as tightly, rubbing her back to comfort her. Andy then stepped through the fireplace behind her daughter. "Madam Bones believed it was necessary to keep the number of people who knew the truth to the absolute minimum. Your reaction had to be genuine and believable after all," Harry expertly explained, rather skilfully passing the blame onto an untouchable, aloof figure, one whom Tonks would be hesitant to question or go after. Sirius noted all this proudly; Harry would make a fine head of family.

Rallying to Harry's position, as the man code demanded, he spoke up in support. "Yes, Madam Bones was quite insistent that Harry couldn't tell anyone, mostly due to Lucius Malfoy having his own son in Harry's year. It was a necessary evil," he explained, as Ted appeared.

"Believe me Tonks, I would have told you in an instant if I believed it was possible to, without risking the investigation," Harry added smoothly, his tone sincere and genuine. "But let's face facts, you're a _rubbish_ liar; you display your emotions far too plainly, and someone would have certainly noticed that something wasn't right about your reaction and would have questioned it. Hi Andy, hi Ted."

"Sirius said you wanted to see us," Andy offered, taking charge of the exchange, whilst taking a free armchair, even as Tonks took the free seat next to Harry whilst holding on to him tightly, like he was going to escape at any moment. What surprised him the most was that Harry didn't shy away from Tonks' obvious affections, proving that his godson was truly evolving from that emotionally distant boy he had met the previous summer, which caused him to discreetly smile.

"First of all, will Lord Malfoy even still stand trial? Despite having no memory of his name, much less his crimes?" Harry asked.

It was Andy who answered the question, "No, Lord Malfoy likely won't stand trial; after all he's not physically capable of it anymore. Memory charming yourself to erase a crime normally isn't a viable means to avoid trial in the magical world, due to the well known counter spells that can restore the erased memories. But this situation is quite different due to the spell being interrupted and compounded by the use of several overpowered stunners while it was still working. Unfortunately, the spell is likely permanent and unable to be reversed under those circumstances. The healers at Saint Mungos' will give it their best effort, of course, but the chances are ridiculously small that they'll be successful.

To make the damage even more difficult to repair, from what I've heard he didn't erase just a small period of time; he virtually erased his entire mind. The spell Lord Malfoy used was not meant to be used in such a way, and as a result has caused permanent memory damage. That means that even if some memories could be recovered, there is significant risk of fragmentation. The Wizengamot will be very hesitant to prosecute him personally under those circumstances. _However_, even if Malfoy can't personally be prosecuted in his state, the House of Malfoy can stand trial in his place if enough evidence is found to prove the accused's crimes. It's basically the same, although Malfoy won't be going to prison and it is far more time consuming."

Harry gave a thoughtful nod, before asking another question. "Who will be responsible for defending the House of Malfoy?"

"The head of the family would normally be responsible for defending one of their family member's actions, if the one accused was incapable of doing so. But since he is the one being accused of multiple crimes, it will be the heir to the family name that has to defend them," Andy lectured, as Ted sat on the arm of her chair, nodding at her answer.

"Draco? But he's just a snotty, immature second year who grossly overestimates his own importance and skill," Tonks spat, as Harry nodded in agreement. It was clear that Tonks didn't see Harry in the same way, despite his being relatively the same age as Draco. His Godson was ridiculously mature for his age, probably even more than Tonks actually.

"Did you know Draco was making fun of your death? Doing re-enactments of your supposed last moments for laughs in the Great Hall," Tonks added.

Harry responded only with a shrug of his shoulders, not looking all that angry or surprised at this bit of news. "I kind of guessed he and others would do something like that. Oh well, I'll just have to return the favour tenfold when I'm back at Hogwarts. Please continue Andy."

"If the heir of the family is unable to, it would normally be the Lady of the family who would be responsible for overseeing the family's defense, but since my sister is also being accused of her own involvement in the various crimes it will fall to Draco's godfather to defend the family's honour, at least until my sister is cleared herself," Andy finished.

"Professor Snape," Harry said aloud.

"Probably," Ted agreed.

"That means Dumbledore will almost certainly get involved then," Harry groaned in annoyance as he realized that the Chief Warlock's potent influence would be working behind the scenes during the trial. The old manipulator would love for his puppet Snape to gain control of the Malfoy's money, businesses and political influence.

"Madam Bones said that I could receive a fixed percentage of assets from the Malfoy family in compensation for their attempts on my life, due to some old law, is she correct?" Harry asked.

"Indeed, Madam Bones said that Harry could get something like 40% of their estate if he was the Lord of his family, and that the rest would be forfeited to the Ministry," Sirius seconded, not taking into account the Peverell family name, which could increase that percentage up to 80%.

"I would assume that she's right about that, but we will have to identify the specific law that she's referring to, review the actual language and see how it applies to the facts of this specific situation, if at all, then research the circumstances that it's been used successfully in the past. We'll talk to Madam Bones first to get the details then report back. We also need to consider how this law is enacted when other parties are involved, since Neville Longbottom, the heir of the Longbottom family, was also a victim of Lord Malfoy's plot. You were the main target of Malfoy's attempt and suffered multiple attempts on your life, but it's uncertain how that'll be taken into account," Ted answered in a thoughtful tone.

"Since it seems very likely that Professor Snape will become involved and thus the Chief Warlock, how do we prevent Dumbledore from interfering?" Harry asked. "Dumbledore will do everything in his power to ensure the Malfoy wealth and assets remains intact if his puppet Snape is going to be largely in control of it all for the next five to six years. The man all but robbed me and destroyed my family's legacy when he was my supposed guardian."

"Simple, we limit Dumbledore's ability to become involved in an official capacity. The Wizengamot wouldn't dare challenge the validity of an old law like this one, since it would mean other laws and inherited rights and positions could be challenged as well. We'll stress that in all our statements and filed documents." Ted replied with a grin.

"We can make the case that the Chief Warlock is also an unfortunate _victim_ of this plot as well, since it happened on his watch as Headmaster of Hogwarts, hence his judgement is clouded and biased. Therefore he can't lawfully oversee the trial like he normally would be required to," Andy added, as her husband nodded in agreement whilst smiling lovingly at his wife.

"We can use this same argument to get the Minister removed from overseeing the case, since he is a close personal friend of Lord Malfoy. He's made that statement publically many times and won't be able to deny it. That means Madam Bones will be responsible for overseeing the trial, and we all know what she thinks of law breakers," Ted added with a grin, as smiles broke out around the group.

"What happens if Madam Bones is removed? Everyone knows she dislikes Lord Malfoy," Harry asked.

"Then the second most senior law enforcement officer replaces her," he offered, recalling his training as an auror. Harry merely nodded in response, obviously deep in thought.

"The best thing you two can do, if you want to counter the Chief Warlock's extensive influence, is to meet and greet the Lords and Ladies of the other important families in the Wizengamot. Charm them and influence them into joining your cause. Lady Longbottom is one of the Chief Warlock's most powerful allies, but her family can gain a lot through this as well. If you gain her support you can use her to split the Chief Warlock's influence. If his own political faction and powerbase is divided on this issue, then it will greatly limit Dumbledore's political reach and how many promises and favors he can offer to get his way. Plus, the Chief Warlock is already going to be in a difficult position if he tries to fight this case, because it will appear to the public and his allies that he is protecting a murderer. A murderer that his own powerful allies hate and have been fighting against tooth and nail for over a decade," Andy proposed with a sly smile.

"Good thing I am already talking with Lady Longbottom then, we already have a basic deal worked out," he added smugly.

"Sirius, can you make an appointment with the Daily Prophet? I think it is time that I triumphantly return to life and did an interview to win some public sympathy and support. I did do my considerable part to bring down a murderer after all," Harry voiced thoughtfully.

"How are you not Lord of the Slytherins?" Tonks added from behind Harry with a joking smile.

"Ask the hat," Harry replied with his own smile.

**Midnight Lord**

He knew his cousin was still annoyed and angry with him, and frankly he didn't blame her. It was time to make amends and give her a peace offering. "I have something for you Tonks," he offered, before heading up to his bedroom. He heard his cousin's footsteps following dutifully behind him. Once in his room he retrieved a small silver pocket mirror from his chest.

"What is it Harry? I need to get back to Hogwarts," Tonks asked.

He held out the silver mirror for her to take, "Here, I enchanted this mirror for you; so you'll never again be out of contact with me if you don't want to be," he offered with a small smile.

"Contact?" Tonks asked, whilst looking over the mirror. He quickly explained the purpose of the mirror and how to use it, which resulted in Tonks giving him a tight hug in thanks.

"Am I out of the dog house now?" he asked, hoping he was back in Tonks' good books.

"Not yet, but you're close," she teased.

"I guess that will have to do for now," he replied, knowing he still had much to do to get them back to normal. "So tell me, how's Hogwarts with Professor McGonagall as headmistress?"

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note: **Sorry about the long update time but real life has been very busy. I've also had a strong case of writers block, which made writing this chapter a pain.


	42. Y2 Aftermath Pt2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated: M**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 42 Aftermath Pt2**

**Posted 23rd December 2013**

**Revised and ****Beta'd by 'Joe Lawyer'**

Harry looked out of his bedroom window onto the quiet street below, the last week of his life he had been exceptionally busy, and tiring, as his plans suddenly jumped into overdrive now that the perfect opportunity had presented itself. For the last couple of days he and his godfather Sirius had been following Andy's wise advice, and had started the careful courtship of several influential, but politically neutral households, with the assistance of Lord and Lady Greengrass making the formal introductions. How successful these courtships were, only time would tell, but he wasn't too worried about it.

In the last couple days he had also taken the monumental step of taking up his ancestral lordship of the Potter family, almost two and half years sooner than he had originally planned. Thankfully, the public wasn't aware of this fact yet, but it was only a matter of time.

As a result, he was now Lord Potter-Peverell, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble family of Potter, as well as Lord Peverell, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble family of Peverell, and heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, making him arguably the most politically powerful 12 year old in the whole of Britain, maybe even in Europe. As he absentmindedly admired and played with the sparkling family rings on his fingers he thought about just how common his story was in mainland Europe during the '40s, during the rise and fall of Grindelwald, when so many great and ancient magical families were either wiped out entirely or pared down to only a handful of surviving members. And soon, he would be made even more powerful and wealthy should Lord Malfoy be found guilty, which seemed increasingly likely as more and more irrefutable evidence was being found at the Malfoy family manor. The magical press was having a field day reporting the scandalous story. With the promise of this new wealth and revenue to reduce the drain on his finances, he had finally authorized the reconstruction of the Potter dockyards in the north to begin, along with the redevelopment projects in the surrounding areas. Workers had already begun to pour into the area, to conduct the site survey and to map out the most efficient sequence of construction.

All in all, everything was going extremely well; in fact things were proceeding far better and far faster than he had originally planned for, thanks in large part to some rather unexpected, but not unwelcome allies. The Gringotts' goblins were proving their worth with the freezing of the Malfoy family's financial assets, thus preventing them from making outrageously large bribes and hiring the most high priced lawyers to wiggle out of trouble. This was incredibly useful to him in the short-term, but it was also a cautionary note about the danger of trusting any one party with all of his wealth. Backup plans would need to be put in place should they ever pull this trick with him. The tides of fortune were unpredictable after all.

They had also discreetly backdated the acceptance of his Potter Lordship to before New Year's Eve. Regardless of their actions to his benefit, he wasn't blind or stupid enough to believe that the goblin bankers were aiding him out of the goodness of their hearts; he knew why they were willing to assist him in this cause. Harry was quite simply a far lesser evil than Lord Malfoy or his family, and was a growing power in magical Britain, unlike the Malfoy family powerbase which was quickly collapsing into ruin now that the extent of their criminal actions had been revealed to the public in such a way. More and more of their long-time allies and most powerful supporters were abandoning them for fear of being tainted with their crimes, like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

Frankly, as he turned from the window, he was wondering just how long it would be till the first self-serving, two-faced rat tried to jump onto his merry ship.

Soon enough he would be returning to Hogwarts, which brought about a lot of conflicting emotions in him. The hard truth of the matter was that Hogwarts was slowing him down, in both his academic development as well as in the growth of his family's financial interests and businesses, making the idea of studying from home with the best tutors and masters of magic his money could buy rather appealing. He would no longer have to wait for his dim-witted and lazy classmates to catch up to where he had been a full year and a half previous anymore. Although, from what he had learned from his friends and allies within Hogwarts, Headmistress McGonagall was desperately trying to change that.

Despite the new headmistress' willingness to reform Hogwarts, and her no nonsense attitude to schooling in general, a still unknown assassin had managed to infiltrate the school's vaunted defenses and actually _murder_ the very auror impersonating him. He had no illusions about his prowess in this matter; it could have _easily_ been him for real. That fact could not be overlooked or minimized so easily. The school was unsafe for him, unlike his godfather's home which had some of the nastiest wards money could buy and only a few people even knew the existence of or could access. But, at the same time, he did miss his friends and their playful banter, even if they could be annoying and distracting at times. The question was, was it worth his life? He would never be able to accomplish his dream of rebuilding the Potter family's legacy if he was killed long before he even had a chance.

'If I did go back, at least I could finally make contact with the ancient basilisk in the school without the Chief Warlock realizing," he mentally noted, with a small measure of satisfaction at the removal of the headmaster, as his plan started to take shape. But the key question now was, even if he somehow gained the basilisk's loyalty, how did one move a thousand year old basilisk out of a school without anyone noticing? And assuming he came up with a solution to that particularly _large_ problem, where would he even move it to? After all, he had no intention of keeping the basilisk at school with him, where it could endanger everyone's life. And as much as he'd like it to be, Dumbledore's absence in the school wasn't likely to be permanent either, so the window of opportunity to act here was likely to be brief. The man was far too powerful and shrewd a political operator to be long out of that seat of power. He dismissed these problems from his thoughts for now, as they were ultimately meaningless until the basilisk was under his control. 'One problem at a time,' he sagely reminded himself.

'Returning would also mean I could make discreet contact with Hermione and compel a magical vow from her,' he mentally added, as he reflected on the information he had recently discovered about magical vows and oaths, whilst wondering what type of vow would best suit his long-term needs and would best take into account what he knew of Hermione's personality.

'A servant vow,' he concluded, whilst wondering how to keep Penny from finding out about it.

The simple fact was, he now knew that magical vows could transfer magical energy to strengthen him, and he wanted that from as many sources as he could get, especially while his magical core was still developing. Just like Madame Pomphrey had said about his Lordship rings, an external boost to his magical core now, before he was fully mature, could mean a permanent, lifelong increase in magical reserves. He _wanted_ that power, both for the sake of having more magical power, but also so that he could more properly defend himself against the many dangers he would inevitably face in the years to come. Plus, Hermione could be useful as an agent and spy in the years to come, as she was ideally placed to keep an eye on both Gryffindor house in general and Longbottom specifically. After all, Andy wanted Sirius and him to do everything we could to foster closer relations with the Longbottom family; Hermione could be used to facilitate those relations. A shark-like smile formed on his face at all these thoughts.

With his mind finally made up, he pushed his many plans to the back of his mind, since there was very little he could do about them for the time being. Just then Serenity flew in through the window, which opened automatically whenever a postal owl was detected, so long as the mail they were carrying was deemed harmless by the house's wards that is. He took a moment to shower affection on his beautiful owl, whom he had been neglecting lately due to Shadow and his own animagus transformation. She quickly grew annoyed with him and flew over to her perch to take a nap, but not before sending him a rather pointed look, which was further enhanced by her golden eyes.

Taking the hint that his owl wanted to be left alone for now, he redirected his attention and energy to the letter he had just been given.

Surprisingly, the letter was from the retired, long-time Hogwarts potions Professor, Horus Slughorn, who supervised Harry's independent study of potions. In the letter he expressed his joy at Harry being alive and well after reading about it in the Daily Prophet. Taking a moment to compose a quick reply, he thanked the retired professor for his well wishes before placing the sealed letter to one side so that Serenity could deliver it later.

The man was a bit of a windbag, but there was absolutely no denying the man was an incredibly skilled potions master, and was the man responsible for marking his work. He opened his codex at these thoughts and placed a reminder to ask the former professor for up and coming potioneers he knew about, pre- or post-mastery, people who maybe hadn't gotten a fair deal in magical Britain. His information might be a bit dated, but he might have kept up-to-date on some level. The man would work even harder to give him some names if was given a finder's fee as well. Since he was already in the ingredients business and looking to expand there, it was only a small step further to hire on people who could brew the potions. The apothecary business was a lucrative one after all and would make an excellent new business for the Potter family to get into, albeit one that might earn him a few more enemies. If he introduced innovations like at home, rapid delivery of as needed potions, any time of day or night, he could make a killing and set himself up as a better alternative than his competitors.

He could see it now, he would bond one or two elves to the business, the customer calls out the elf's name, the elf shows up at their home and they place their order, the elf returns with a premade potion from his inventory in seconds, the price charged to the customer's account. He could charge a decent premium for such a service. He quickly grew excited. Why should he even stop there? At home delivery had been around for decades in the muggle world, why not introduce that in magical Britain as well? It'd be easy to attach an elf to a restaurant to deliver food to magicals for a premium. Instead of only a phone number on their menus/advertisements like in the muggle world, a floo address and elf name would be listed. They'd need to come in beforehand and be introduced in person to the elf for their call to be heard in the future, but that was a small inconvenience for such a useful service. He shook his head to clear his mind; this would require a great deal of thought, but the gold was in the details. Perhaps he should buy up all the available elves in Britain, Ireland and France? Many of his plans for his businesses required quite a bit of elf labor after all. The idea for fast elf delivery was sound, but he needed some way to stop his competitors from simply copying the idea and offering it themselves. Could he patent the idea with the ICW and prevent its use by his competitors? And maybe he should just take this idea all the way and simply hire Slughorn to head up a possible future potions/apothecary division? The man was both good at making potions and an incredibly networker.

Leaving his bedroom, he wandered into the library, only to find Remus was already there, busy working his way through a pile of books whilst taking down various notes. This was the third day in a row he had found Remus in the library making notes, but this time he recognised a couple of the books as defence against the dark arts texts. Harry's natural inquisitiveness kicked in, as his inner Ravenclaw spoke up. "Why are you reading third year DADA texts Remus?"

Remus paused for moment to look up from his note taking, "I just received the DADA curriculum from the Headmaster. I felt it would be prudent to start planning my lessons for next year," the werewolf replied.

"Fair enough, far better to do it now rather than at the last minute," Harry noted aloud in obvious approval, as he moved to the nearest bookshelf. "But you have, however, overlooked something rather important."

A good minute passed by before Remus responded to his baited observation, "What have I overlooked then Harry?"

"The Chief Warlock is no longer the Headmaster of Hogwarts, professor McGonagall is," he answered plainly. "Therefore it's her decision, as _Headmistress_, who exactly fills the role of DADA instructor now, not the Chief Warlock's," he said, even as he put a book back on the shelf before continuing on with his explanation. "If I were you, I would arrange a meeting with her first to confirm the state of things, before you go to all this time consuming effort to plan a course you may not even be teaching. And don't take this the wrong way Remus, she may know _you_, as a person and as a former student, and otherwise like you and consider you a friend, but do you truly think she will hire a werewolf as the new DADA professor so early in her tenure as Headmistress, when so many eyes will be watching her every decision, second guessing her at every turn? With all her plans for change, would she be willing to spend her limited political capital to defend that choice? I sincerely doubt she would be willing to take the risk in appointing you; the Board of Governors would be all over it, not to mention the Prophet." He finally turned to face his godfather's best friend to gauge his reaction. Would the man be mad at him for pointing this out?

His argument seemed to finally be understood and recognized as the likely outcome, as Remus gave a sigh of disappointment, knowing that Harry was probably right. "Thank you for pointing this out to me Harry," Remus offered emotionlessly, before getting up from behind the desk to leave the room.

He decided to throw the disheartened Remus a bone, "If I'm wrong and you want some help preparing for next year, just ask, I can give you some good advice on what I believe would be the best approach for teaching my age group and the amount of time likely needed for each spell and topic. And if you're looking for paid work, I have an opportunity that would be a good fit for you, if you were interested that is," he offered easily.

"What type of work Harry?" Remus asked.

"As you may have heard from Sirius, the Potter docks are in the process of being rebuilt and expanded, along with my holdings in the surrounding alleys and lands. I need someone to monitor and manage it for me during the project, to be my eyes and ears on the worksite daily, to keep the builders honest and on track, to report to me regularly on what's happening, to get my decision on the various matters that will inevitably crop up. If someone is there representing me, looking over their shoulders, it's a lot more likely to be completed on schedule and at the level of craftsmanship I want," he explained, his tone serious. "A huge part of my family's fortune is tied up in this project and my family's future is on the line; I need someone there to make sure everything is on track, someone I can count on." This last bit was to reassure Remus that this wasn't just some act of charity on my part, that this was an important task that I couldn't give to just anyone.

"I thought Sirius was meant to do that for you?" Remus probed.

"Yes, normally Sirius would be, but this is going to be a very time consuming task Remus. This is going to be a _huge_ undertaking. Sirius is already busy enough handling both my political interests and my pre-existing businesses, as well as re-establishing the Black family interests. He's going to be spread far too thin to do this any justice, no matter how much he may want to. Yes, Andy and Ted are helping where they can with the various legal issues that have and will continue to crop up, but they have their own law practice and clients to consider. Even after the construction is completed, I'm still going to need an individual to supervise it in my place until I finish my formal schooling," he answered, as he casually leaned against the bookshelf.

"How _huge_ are we talking?" Remus asked, visibly interested in the idea.

"Huge is an understatement, now that I think about it, maybe _colossal_ is a better word to describe the size of the project," he answered thoughtfully as he stroked his hairless chin, but internally he was grinning ear to ear. "The new docks will be double the size and depth of the original ones when they're completed. There will also be a new shipyard facility for the building, maintenance and repair of small to large vessels. That's a service that none of the other docks offer. The idea is that it'd be a far more efficient use of their money and time to deliver their cargo to my docks, where they can unload as well as get the needed maintenance/repairs done on their vessels. I'll likely offer a discount on maintenance services if they use my docks exclusively for their shipping needs in Britain. In addition, as of a few weeks ago, I now own 97% of the alleys and lands surrounding the docklands, rather than the 40% my family controlled before the war. I fully intend to build up those areas to offer retail shopping, dining, entertainment, hotels, residential housing, and more." Remus' eyes bulged out in shock at the numbers and just how ambitious this plan was, before placing a hand against the wall to steady himself. "Think about it seriously Remus and give me your answer by Sunday if you want the job, if not, I'll find someone else," Harry finished, before leaving the library and the man to his thoughts.

He made his way back to his bedroom with an unknown book in hand; he knew that he was taking a risk with Remus, as the middle aged man, although smart and capable, didn't appear to have any drive or ambition to really make something of himself, seemingly content to wallow in his own self-pity. But he knew the offer would make his godfather _extremely_ happy, and besides, Remus could easily be replaced later on if he failed at his task. If he did fail, well, Sirius wouldn't have any grounds to complain. There was a minor concern about giving Remus access to any of his family's financial information, but that could easily be prepared for with a carefully written magical contract provided by the goblins. The same contract would need some language to ensure Remus didn't do anything to betray him or his secrets, or work against his interests.

Besides, working for him was far safer for the man in light of the curse on the DADA position. He could already see it; either Remus would die in some freakish accident, or on a full moon the man would transform by accident, perhaps after a foolish student stupidly pranked his wolfsbane, rendering the highly sensitive potion useless. This would inevitably result in his godfather's best friend attacking students, or infecting them, or even potentially killing his fellow students. And given the fact that his friends and housemates were the students at risk, and he could potentially be there too, he'd rather that didn't even have a chance to happen.

It would be an effective means to test whether the student body had successfully learnt their werewolf related defence material though, a dark smile appearing on his lips at the rather silly thought. Should the worse happen and the man go out of control killing and infecting students, the whole situation would almost certainly stain his family's name due to his godfather's close friendship with the man and would cause all kinds of problems long-term. No one would believe for a second that we hadn't used our significant influence to secure Remus' appointment and thus we'd be blamed unfairly. It was far better just to avoid the possibility altogether, rather than risking such a catastrophe.

He gave a disapproving shake of his head at these thoughts, still not understanding how the Chief Warlock could think that it was a good idea for a werewolf to be teaching in a school full of kids. Looking down at the book in his hand, he was disappointed to find that it was a book on divination, his least favourite subject.

He groaned in annoyance, since he couldn't return to the library without ruining his masterful exit, thus the book would have to do for now. The title was in Latin, but his mind translated it into English as, 'The Complexities of Prophecies.' He couldn't help the groan of annoyance that escaped his lips at this title. He despised the very concept of a prophecy, since it implied that there was no such thing as free will and choice, and suggested that everything was already decided by some kind of grand design, that fate existed, rather than individual choice determining the future. But a book was a book, and knowledge was knowledge, his inner Ravenclaw ruthlessly argued. His inner Slytherin hissed that knowledge leads to understanding, and that understanding is power and that power is freedom. This line of thought stirred his inner tiger.

Hooking the book back under his arm, he decided that he would read it just to kill time, and on the small chance that it actually contained useful magical knowledge that he could put to good use at some point in his life. After all, power was power, and he already had several enemies to deal with. If divination gave him a hidden advantage, then so be it, he would learn it no matter how he felt about the subject. 'The strong survive, the weak perish,' he recited in the back of his mind, remembering one of the harshest rules of life. 'The strong rule, the weak serve and follow; it is the natural order of things.' His inner predator growled in seeming agreement.

Returning to his room, he found that Serenity was already fast asleep on her perch, her soft breaths filling the silent room as he watched the snow white owl soundly sleep. He smiled at the sight, before filing the memory away. A part of him wondered idly just what his rather intelligent owl dreamed about? Was it flying through the sky? Or was it all about the hunt? Did Harry appear in her dreams? Wordlessly flicking his wand through the air, he carefully weaved a silencing charm around his sleeping owl so that his activities wouldn't awaken her before she was ready. After all, Serenity was a very cantankerous owl when she failed to get her required amount of 'beauty sleep.'

**Hogwarts**

She looked down at the fireplace, the ashes and the fire were currently being shaped by magic to create the face of the former Headmaster. "_No Albus_, I won't stand down as Headmistress," she replied in a firm tone, using the same tone of voice she used on troublesome students, while trying to keep her calm at the former headmaster's sheer gall, wanting nothing more than to close the floo connection that second and be done with the man. "You had your chance Albus, it my turn now."

The former headmaster gave her a disappointed look, one that she had seen far too often when he was dressing down a misbehaving student; it didn't faze her one bit. She knew that she was in the right on this matter, not Albus. "Minerva, you know that my stepping down was only to buy time for the aurors to complete their investigation, until the perpetrator was caught," the aged wizard responded calmly. "Now it's time for me to return to the castle."

Considering the former Headmaster's words, a predatory smile appeared on her lips at Albus' unintentional slip. "You mean 'the school' don't you, Albus? Not 'the castle?'" she countered as the former headmaster frowned, realizing his mistake. "The investigation may be over Albus, but I won't step down as Headmistress just so that you can merely play the part of Hogwarts' Headmaster once again," she countered in a determined tone.

"_Play_? I didn't play at anything," Albus replied in an affronted tone.

"Yes, you did! Since I've had the job and title for real, I now realize that I've been making virtually every decision of the headmaster and doing all the administrative paperwork for you for the last few decades! It was all my hard work! You've simply been signing off on 99% of my administrative choices, whilst you were away from the school, too busy dealing with your other political positions and responsibilities. Guiding Hogwarts is not a part-time job that can be done half heartedly while you attempt to do two other full-time jobs; it requires an individual's full and undivided attention, their full commitment to the task," she lectured back. "You are quite simply one man trying to do the work of three full time positions Albus, of course this school is going to suffer when your time and commitment to its success is so divided.

"Minerva, I am more than capable of handling the affairs of Hogwarts!" he defended, ignoring her valid points and concerns like he usually did.

"No, you're not; I've been running this school as headmistress for years in all but name! Now that I have the title, I'm not going to let it go without a fight. I've been so damn busy doing my job and yours for years now that I hadn't realized just how far this school had fallen. You're too busy to look out solely for the school and her students' well being Albus, not to mention the many instances where the school's best interests conflicted with the best interests of your other positions," she replied in a far harder and more protective tone, realizing just how much was at stake if Albus continued to head the school. "This year, like many others, you hired a fool for the DADA position, a man who has done nothing but play the part of a teacher like it was an acting role. Just thinking of this year and that particular man makes me cringe; your choice may have possibly ruined the potential careers and futures for many NEWT and OWL students, in fact seven separate years worth of students and their schooling. This 'DADA curse' has been going on and left undealt with for years! How much has our society been damaged?!" "I was reliably informed that Mr. Lockhart was a highly capable wizard," the headmaster answered, trying to defend his choice.

"Molly Weasley is hardly a suitable adviser," she pressed ruthlessly, wanting to push her advantage. "It would have taken you less than 5 minutes to realize that Lockhart was a fake. You even had Mr. Potter in this office questioning the assigned textbook at the start of the year. You spend so much time out of the school for your other positions or locked up in your office that you miss things that are right in front of you. In fact, the only time you have any contact with students is at meals, and that's only watching them!"

Dumbledore was about to reply, but he stopped himself as he realized the trap she had set up. "Very well, I'll be talking to the _Board_ about my reinstatement."

"You do that Albus," she voiced in defiance before disconnecting the floo, already knowing that she had the unspoken advantage of currently holding the position. The school's magic had readily accepted her as headmistress, almost joyously in fact, if she had to put an emotion to it.

Taking her seat, her thoughts turned towards the school and Albus specifically, knowing that the next couple of weeks were going to get messy as Albus started to pressure the governors' to act against her.

That said, she knew that many people considered the former headmaster to be too powerful, too influential, so maybe they wouldn't be so quick to agree to assist him in regaining the prestigious position of Hogwarts' headmaster. She frowned at a sudden unpleasant realization. 'I need to find and secure my own allies,' she concluded after some thought, hating the idea that she would have to play politics, but it was the only way to keep Albus out of Hogwarts long enough to finish her self-appointed task of rebuilding the school's damaged image. For too long the school had enjoyed a legacy reputation for excellence that was, she hated to admit, completely at odds with reality.

**Later That Day**

"Come on _old man_, you can do better than that!" Harry lightly mocked with an arrogant smirk on his face as he side stepped and dodged a trio of spells sent by his dogfather, before nonchalantly batting a missed stunner to one side with his wand, resulting in his godfather giving him a rather stunned look at his use of 'wand deflection,' an advanced duelling technique normally only seen in a duelling competition. At his level of experience and power he could simply deflect the spell off to the side in an almost entirely undirected manner, making the technique rather dangerous for fighting with allies nearby. True masters of the skill though could send spells (at least those capable of deflection), anywhere they wanted, including back at the person who cast it at them. Spell deflection at that level required the wizard to make the spell cast at them their own by injecting their own magic into the spell matrix once it made contact with their wand, in a sense changing the spell's 'ownership,' then using that enhanced control over the spell to 'cast' it at the target of their choice. It wasn't absorption though, as that could be quite dangerous, more like adding magic to the limit of the spell's matrix and taking control of it that way. Thus it wouldn't work if cast by a stronger wizard as the spell would have likely been sent at max power. In that case, simple deflection is all that's possible. In a mastery level deflection, the deflected spell was largely being fuelled by their opponent, rather than themselves. This had to happen in the barest fraction of a second though, thus why minor changes in the path of the spell to avoid being hit were the most common use of the technique, especially in those instances where dodging or traditional shielding wasn't possible. He merely smirked back at Sirius, who was panting deeply, trying to catch his breath as droplets of sweat ran down the dog animagus' face, whilst he was barely sweating.

Not wanting to give his godfather a chance to recover his breath, he went on the offensive once again, as he started the first of his spell chains that he had recently developed with Tonks, the spells chosen specifically and cast in a specific order so that one spell's wand movements would flow seamlessly into the next for fast 'chain casting.' The first pair of spells to leave his wand were simple, but quick to cast prank spells that many of his classmates used as friendly jokes on one another, '_Rictusempra, Tarantallegra_,' but they were meant to be a distraction, an opening move in a long duel. Whilst neither the tickling charm nor the dancing spell would cause any harm, if they weren't dodged or shielded against then they could easily tip the duel into Harry's favour. While Sirius was avoiding these throwaway spells, he could cast something more useful with a greater chance of it landing while Sirius was distracted, like the quick, but accurate, stunner that he had just shot from his wand.

Predictably his godfather dodged and/or shielded the trio of fast onrushing spells, even as he started the next volley of silent spells. '_Flipendo, Avis, Petrificus Totalus, Expelliarmus.' _The next four spells had a far greater chance of ending the duel and leaving Sirius defenceless, but were slightly slower to cast.

The overpowered pushing jinx aimed at Sirius' upper chest, to hopefully take the man off his feet, crashed with Sirius' own retaliatory stunner, the two spells cancelling each other out in mid air with a bang, as a flock of conjured birds flew through the air towards his godfather, only to be incinerated at the last moment with a quick, but accurate and overpowered incendio charm cast in an arc like a flame thrower. The last pair of spells were quickly shielded against.

"I thought this was meant to be some light duelling practise Harry?" Sirius asked between haggard breaths. He confidently smirked back in amusement.

"This _is_ light duelling Sirius; don't tell me that you're tired already? Tonks is barely winded at this point in our duelling these days," Harry shot back at the former star auror, with a light trickle of sweat running down the side of his face. He had missed this, he missed duelling with Tonks, he missed the excitement, the dance of combat, as each duellist tried to overcome and subdue the other with all their power and wits. "If you want to stop or need a break, just say so. There's no shame in admitting you're getting old and/or your godson is_ awesome_."

Sirius' reply came in the form of a quick disarming charm shooting across the makeshift duelling room, followed closely by a powerful stunner which he easily avoided simply by leaning back, the powerful spell shooting harmlessly over his shoulder. He knew that his godfather was holding back on his choice of spells, like Tonks would do until he either learnt the spell himself or learned the counter spell needed to defend against it. Expecting that kind of forbearance in real combat was, of course, utterly ridiculous, but it allowed both combatants to work on the fundamentals of magical combat. Besides, even simple spells like they were using could be used to great effect with just a bit of creativity.

Returning the favour, he decided to use one of his more dangerous spell chains he had recently learnt, that swapped basic, underpowered jinxes for combat curses, '_Bombarda, Furnunculus, Reducto, Confundus,_ _Locomotor Mortis,_ _Stupefy!'_ the six spells rushed towards his godfather, who quickly summoned a sturdy shield to absorb the powerful muti-coloured barrage of spells, before spinning on the spot and disappearing in a loud 'pop,' before reappearing in an equally loud 'pop' to Harry's left.

Recognizing the new duelling tactic his godfather was using from his reading on duelling tactics, he hastily cast his own shield charm to block his godfather's spell. "No fair Sirius," he replied with a hint of annoyance, as another spell shot past him, just for him to retaliate against his godfather by sending an even more powerful blasting hex back at his godfather, who lazily shielded himself against the spell.

"Ah, well you were the one who wanted to play with the big dogs pup," his godfather replied in a cheeky tone with an even bolder grin, before disappearing again in another loud 'pop,' as a spell flew through the air where Sirius had been previously standing only moments before. He knew from his reading that there were three commonly accepted ways to counter this annoying, but highly effective tactic of multiple, quick apparitions to different points on the battlefield; either erect an anti-apparition ward over the battle area using warding techniques, use the anti-disapparition jinx, which he couldn't perform effectively yet, or don't try to prevent apparition at all, but use wide area-of-effect spells to hopefully catch your opponent in the moment or two they were vulnerable upon reappearing.

Warding wasn't an option; he had no knowledge of how to erect an anti-apparition ward over the room even in the best of conditions, much less on the fly in the middle of a duel. He had read about and knew the incantation for the anti-disapparition jinx, but he neither had the power yet to cast it effectively nor did he have the intimate understanding of apparition needed to pull it off. He couldn't apparate, _yet_, but he'd practice the jinx until perfect after he'd been apparating for a while and his magical core had grown enough to actually stop an adult wizard from simply overpowering the jinx. However, he did know one or two area of effect spells he could easily cast now due to his extensive duelling with Tonks. Using apparition also had one big limitation; it required intense concentration to be used safely, especially when used in quick succession, otherwise body parts could easily be left behind. A hastily put together plan formed in his mind.

He discreetly cast an 'Impervius' charm upon his lower body, before quickly flooding the room with several powerful 'Aguamenti,' charms, even as he dodged and shielded against his godfather's spells, and sweat started running quickly down his face and back at the effort to do even that.

Just as Sirius went to apparate once again, he turned to face the direction he expected his godfather to reappear, whilst dropping to one knee as he called up his magic and mentally envisioned the water cooling and hardening into ice, the inner atomic structure losing energy and cooling. "Aquarium Gelu!" he shouted, using the spell verbally for the first time during this duel as he jabbed his glowing wand tip into the water. Frosty ice blue lightning erupted from his wand, the ice lightning expanding across the flooded floor turning the water to hardened ice just as Sirius reappeared on the newly formed ice field.

The result was both instantaneous and comical, as his godfather suddenly found himself slipping on the magically made ice, the expensive dragon hide boots he wore finding no grip as his arms began flailing around like a madman. He desperately tried to regain his balance, but failed miserably, due to the forward spinning momentum of standard apparition. In these comical moments, Sirius' arm spinning in circles like a windmill, it was child's play to hit him with a quick disarming charm, the man's wand shooting from his hand easily.

He smiled darkly at his godfather's hilarious plight, as a spur of the moment plan bore fruit. "_Stupefy!" _he shouted in victory, the stunner shooting forward quickly, much to Sirius' horror.

"Fuck!" Sirius exclaimed as the dazzling scarlet stunner hit him square in the junk.

"Cat beats dog," he announced rather childishly to the room, but as he was the only one conscious to hear it, he felt free to act his age for once.

**Hogwarts**

Upon entering the staffroom, she nodded approvingly; most of the staff was already here, waiting patiently in their assigned seats. She gave a nod of greeting to Professor Flitwick, the school's new Deputy Headmaster, her acting second in command. They had made a promise, a vow almost, to rebuild Hogwarts' once formidable reputation and to keep the school out of Ministry politics, so the events that had transpired this year wouldn't happen again!

"Headmistress, what is the purpose of this staff meeting? I have papers to mark," the sulky Severus inquired.

She turned her attention to the potion master, who she now knew was the real deal given how many house points had been taken in the last few days, and how the school's students were once again groaning and cursing his name. And also the fact that almost a tenth of Gryffindor house was now scrubbing and cleaning bathrooms. Whilst she disapproved of this biased abuse of power against her former house, Severus was actually punishing them for breaking the newly enforced school rules, even if a normal classroom detention or point reduction would have been a more appropriate punishment for a first offence. And on a professional note, she wouldn't undermine Severus' authority as a professor in front of her students by playing favourites and cancelling and/or rearranging detentions like Albus had often done. That didn't mean she wouldn't speak to him in private and restrict these behaviours though.

Regrettably, she still needed Severus for the foreseeable future to fill the critical role of DADA professor, after she finally got rid of 'Professor Lockhart,' from the Hogwarts staff. She also needed him to continue overseeing Slytherin house.

Professor Lockhart had created quite a mess in his short tenure at Hogwarts; all of his students were behind in their defence studies, especially those fifth years and seventh years who were only a couple of months away from their all important exams.

Not all of that was his fault, of course; Albus had hired some real winners over the years to fill that position. Lockhart had merely taken a bad situation and made it that much worse by not even trying to teach the course's material. Thus the position needed to be filled by someone who could get results, quickly, and who wouldn't be afraid to push them without remorse. Severus was the best choice she had on such short notice. While Professor Slughorn had agreed to teach potions for the remainder of the school year, the former Hogwarts professor had not agreed to supervise his old house. Slytherin house needed a firm hand to avoid total disaster, or an iron fist if you preferred, making Severus best suited for the task out of all her current staff.

There were also the political factors to consider, due to Severus' past connection to many of the darker families. His removal, despite being well supported by multiple documented cases of misconduct, would ruffle their feathers, creating unnecessary opposition at a time when she could least afford it, undermining her reforms, whilst possibly giving Albus some unexpected allies in his bid to retake his former position. In short, Severus was a necessary evil for the moment, at least until her position was far more secure and her allies were all lined up behind her in support. And the best means to get allies and support would be getting good results!

Then there was the promise she had made to Albus to give Severus a chance. That felt like a veritable lifetime ago, when her loyalty and faith in the headmaster seemed unshakable. How naive she had been.

"The purpose of this meeting, _Severus_, is to discuss my planned reforms for Hogwarts' future, a future where this school is once again considered one of the finest schools of magic in all of Europe," she answered back before adding. "And certain individuals' continued employment as professors at this historic institution."

Her answer had the desired effect, as the head of Slytherin was finally giving this meeting his complete attention, understanding the unspoken threat of discharge into the cold, cruel world. Severus was smart enough to know that he was on thin ice already and in very real danger of being kicked to the curb, especially with the former headmaster's protection seemingly gone and the abrupt removal of his friend and staunch supporter on the Board of Governors in Lord Malfoy.

Looking over at the room's grandfather clock, she frowned in disapproval when she realized that the one member that the meeting was partially about was once again late. She had given very clear instructions to everyone that attendance at the staff meeting was mandatory for all. Perhaps this merely confirmed her decision.

Turning her attention back to the gathered staff members, who were politely waiting for the meeting to get underway, she decided that Sybil's presence wouldn't really matter anyway, since she was one of the professors being terminated. "We shall get started then, so that Severus here can get back to marking his most _beloved_ papers," she commented lightly, as her lips twitched, a couple chuckles filling the air in response at her dig at the not well liked professor.

"Shouldn't we wait for Sybill to arrive?" Gilderoy asked, sending her his best charming smile, which had absolutely no effect upon her. He looked a bit discomfited at that.

"It's irrelevant. Sybill's tenure at Hogwarts has come to an end; her manner and personal bearing are not fitting for a teacher at this prestigious institution. I warned her about cleaning up her act, but she has failed to make any substantive change," she said flatly to the gathered staff, an air of uncomfortable silence falling over the staff room.

Most of them didn't seem particularly surprised at the announcement, since she had been on about Sybill's personal conduct since the day she started at Hogwarts, with only Albus sheltering the drunk from her wrath. She then turned her attention to the dim-witted DADA professor who did nothing but pose and smile and tell near farcical stories from his books in class, rather than teach like he was required. "Mr. Lockhart, your time here at Hogwarts has also come to an end; you have until tomorrow evening to remove your personal effects and vacate the castle and its grounds. Now please leave this office."

It took a couple of seconds for the DADA professor to process and understand her words, before he mutely got up to leave the room, surprisingly making no fuss over the issue, which was an unexpected blessing. The man seemed almost, _relieved_, if she had to put a word to it.

"I would also remind you that you are still bound by the terms of the employment contract you signed before starting here; anything that occurred at this institution while you were a professor is a matter of the strictest confidentiality," she added sternly, before the man could leave the room, after all, she didn't want to see a new book about the school written by the fool. That was one of the few good things about the new employment contracts the former headmaster had required at the start of the new school year.

"Severus? How would you feel about taking over the DADA position for the rest of the year?" she asked, the man's eyes seemed to light up in response, before the excitement disappeared behind a mask of indifference.

She wasn't too concerned about the 'curse' on the position, since the curse had already been fulfilled for the year with the removal of Professor Lockhart by her own decision. That was another important issue she would have to look into this summer, the permanent removal of the curse on the DADA position, so that she could fill the position for good and provide a consistent standard of DADA teaching for her students. Persistent curse magic of this type was a strange and poorly understood area of magic in Britain, but it was very specific in who or what it targeted, that much she did know. Even if they couldn't identify the true source of the curse and end it, it might only affect the "DADA" professor as intended. Changing the name of the course and position might very well stop the curse from working altogether, since the DADA position would no longer exist. The course could easily be renamed to "Combat Magic" or something similar and her staffing problems on account of this curse might be over for good. It wouldn't be a particularly glamorous solution, but it could be quite effective in its simplicity, should the curse breakers fail.

"I could be persuaded, I suppose," Severus answered in an absentminded tone.

"I_ suppose_ I could just fire you as well and find a replacement whilst I'm clearing house," she countered easily.

"Who is replacing me? I can't be expected to teach two core subjects at once, despite my formidable teaching prowess," Severus replied. With a mighty effort of will she kept herself from laughing aloud.

"Your predecessor, Professor Slughorn, has already agreed to return for the remainder of the year," she replied easily, as Severus stiffened in surprise. Severus had never gotten along with his former potions' professor and head of house despite his prowess and ability in that subject, on account of Horace focusing on the 'high flyers' who had better career prospects, rather than him. So many doors that had been opened for those damnable 'Slug Club' members had been denied to him, despite his skill. "He's quite looking forward to it actually; he might even stay on next year if needed."

"Will Mr. Potter still be absent from my lessons?" Severus asked.

"I believe so," she answered back quickly, but committing to nothing more, since she hadn't actually considered the issue yet. She turned her attention to the group as a whole and posed a question. "How have our charges been adapting to the new rules and their enforcement?"

**Number 12**

"Stop sulking Sirius; it's unbecoming of a Lord," Harry teased good naturedly, as he politely dug into his light supper.

"You stunned me in _her majesty's_ _crown jewels_ Harry! You just don't that to a man," Sirius exclaimed in protest, as he lovingly rubbed his crotch, as if to comfort it. "You stunned me four hours ago and I still can't feel mini-me!"

"It could be worse," Remus offered from his seat at the table.

"How on Earth could it be worse Remus?!" Sirius asked, giving his friend a dark look.

"At least Harry didn't hit you there with a cutting curse," Remus expressed, as Sirius cringed and paled at the very thought. The idea for a dragon hide codpiece flashing through his mind. "When did you get so _good_ at duelling Harry?"

"Tonks and I have been duelling since halfway through my first year. With Peter after me, and Tonks wanting to be an auror, we've been putting in even more time and effort to get better. We got to the point where we were spending maybe 8-10 hours a week duelling and practising defensive magic together," he explained proudly.

"That is a lot of extra time and effort to put in, especially for one so young," Remus noted thoughtfully.

"Not when your very life may depend upon it; then it's rather easy to get the proper motivation to train," he answered emotionlessly before a small smile slipped onto his lips and inexplicably a slight sparkle became visible in his eyes. "Tonks is good fun; she knows how to liven up the training." His grin grew even bigger as he remembered with fondness the time that he had stripped and left Tonks buck naked after they'd duelled, in retaliation for the time that she had left him naked. At the time he hadn't been mature enough physically to find Tonks attractive beyond thoughts of her being 'pretty,' but looking back now he could easily admit to himself that Tonks was extremely attractive and definitely sexy, even Penny was for that matter.

"Most girls are good _fun_ if you get them one-on-one," Sirius voiced with a goofy grin, even as he and Remus rolled their eyes at Sirius' typical reply, and casual reference to sex. The minor bit of guilt he was feeling for stunning his godfather in 'her majesty's crown jewels' swiftly disappeared.

"Have you considered signing yourself up to compete in an international duelling competition Harry? It'd be great experience and you could learn a lot. Most have sub competitions specifically for the various age and/or skill levels," Sirius asked, carrying on the conversation.

The idea was intriguing, so he thought over Sirius' suggestion for a good minute and half before replying to the question. "I'm not really interested in competition duelling, thank you." The main reason why he wasn't interested in joining a formal duelling circuit was that he didn't want many people to know of his duelling style or skill level, since it undermined its defensive value. In short, he wanted to hide his abilities, to hide his claws and teeth, so that people would dismiss him as just another bookish Ravenclaw, giving him an advantage if he was ever attacked in earnest.

"Any reason why?" Sirius asked, as Remus listened.

He quickly realized by his godfather's stern facial expression alone that he wouldn't allow this subject to drop without a decent explanation or reason. A non-lethal competition like they'd described probably seemed perfect to ensure that he was safer and better prepared to fight and defend myself in the future. "A couple reasons, I just don't want people to know what I'm capable of with my wand," he answered in a serious tone. "I want them to think I'm a boring, bookish Ravenclaw, so that they underestimate me if I am ever attacked."

"I hate to burst your bubble Harry, but I think that ship has well and truly sailed. The chances of being underestimated, like you're describing, were likely gone the minute it became public knowledge that you successfully became a tiger animagus at the age of 12." Remus added thoughtfully from his seat.

"Remus has a point Harry. Becoming an animagus is a rare and difficult skill to master, at any age, as it's a statement of the wizard's power and mastery of their magic; you did it at 12! I haven't been able to confirm it, but I think you're the youngest recorded animagus in our history." Sirius added.

"Fair point," he replied after some thought, truly hating to admit that he was wrong, but they were absolutely right. This confirmed once again that having competent advisors willing to tell him that he was wrong was not only a great idea, but a necessary one. He consoled himself with the fact that it wasn't his idea to out his form in the middle of the fucking Great Hall! But he could take some comfort in the fact that he was potentially the youngest recorded human animagus in history. He would have to get that verified and have it officially confirmed by the ICW. Titles/records like that, which were recognized on some level by the entire magical community. 'Maybe I'll get my own chocolate frog card?' he pondered for moment. The company that did the chocolate frogs loved using wizards and witches with notable magical accomplishments and records like that.

He considered for a moment learning the memory charm and then going around erasing that particular memory from the population of Hogwarts, or most of it, before realizing it would be an impractical, likely illegal, and extremely time consuming task, but not totally dismissing it. "Which duelling competition would you suggest then?" he asked the elder pair of wizards, as he considered once again trying to memory charm the whole school.

**Midnight Lord**

Reading through the morning news article, his lips curled in cruel satisfaction at the latest news, before putting the paper to one side so he could tuck back into his cooling breakfast.

"The Minister has finally jumped ship; I have to admit, he stayed loyal to Malfoy far longer than I had expected," he voiced aloud to his breakfast companions, with a hint of approval. He admired and respected loyalty. The Minister somehow lasting for over a week under _intense_ public pressure, before inevitably abandoning his fallen ally, actually said something positive about the man. Or perhaps he had simply been too scared of crossing Lord Malfoy until recently, that couldn't be discounted. Whatever the Minister's reasons for finally jumping ship, they no longer mattered, only the result did. And the delicious result was that the Malfoy family had lost all of their most publically useful allies.

Remus swallowed his food before offering his own opinion, "The Minister probably realized how hopeless Lucius' situation was."

"Or the gold stopped flowing into the Minister's back pocket with the freezing of the Malfoy family vaults," Sirius added from his place at the head of the table. "Harry, I'll be out for most of the day with Nicholas to drum up some more support. Remus will be staying in to keep an eye on you and help you if you need anything."

"Alright," he replied, as he gave a polite nod to Remus, before biting into his egg covered toast, just as a Hogwarts post owl flew into the dining room. "By the way, Rita Skeeter wants to do another interview. Her plan is to rent a meeting room at the Leaky Cauldron to do it. Would you mind coming along?"

"When does she want to do it?" Sirius asked.

"Tomorrow or the day after, whichever is more convenient for us," he replied, already knowing the interview would be nothing more than show for his godfather's and Remus' benefit. The nature of his connection to Rita needed to be kept secret for the value of her articles to remain high and capable of influencing magical Britain.

**Later That Day**

As he was reading through the DADA marking schemes and examination requirements that he had discreetly 'borrowed' from the distracted Remus, a pair of potions continued to bubble away in the background.

As he read, he was quickly coming to realize just how far ahead he was in his defence studies. He could already effortlessly take and pass with flying colours the second year defense exam, and the third year exam too, given that he knew most of the required spells and defence theory required to pass. He would only need a quick refresher of the theory really, which could be easily achieved with a quick read through of the standard textbook to ensure he aced the theory portions.

Frankly, he could even do the fourth year practical exam given how he had been training intensely with Tonks for the last half year, due to the number of advanced spells she had taught him and those he had self studied so he would be better able to defend himself. Then a thought struck him like a lightning bolt, causing him to quickly flip to the 7th year exam requirements; he quickly noted down the required contents of the exams and its marking scheme in his notebook to share with his cousin. This would surely get him back in her good books once again.

After all, he would be effectively giving his cousin a way to accurately and efficiently revise for her end of year exams, saving her from needlessly panicking over the entire ordeal like she had last year, which would save him a hysterical speech or two about her not being ready and how she was going to fail.

Smiling to himself at an opportunity recognized and seized, he finished his copying even as he considered ordering Rita to find him copies of the other subjects' marking schemes for second through sixth year, so he could better direct his own studies and energies with much more precision. A good deal of the Hogwarts' curriculum was merely stepping stone magic, useless and impractical magic whose only purpose was to help a student get to more useful magics. He didn't need those intermediary steps. Knowing what he could skip with impunity on the final exam would free up a good amount of time for his own studies and side projects.

Even as he started planning out how to use this potential information for maximum gain, he mulled over the advantages and disadvantages of taking his exams a couple years early, assuming of course that the new deputy headmistress would allow him.

Then again, why wouldn't she? Daphne had made it clear that Professor McGonagall was now pushing everyone harder in their academics, with detentions and many new student study groups being encouraged and created. And if he did ace his exams years earlier than normal under Professor McGonagall's leadership, she would receive some credit for his success, and it would make Hogwarts look better as a whole. The selling point would be that it happened under _her _leadership. Sure, the additional prestige would be an advantage, and would increase his personal standing in Britain and abroad, but it would also bring far more attention to him, both good and bad. It occurred to him that he had already attracted quite enough attention already, first due to his and Sirius' donations of the new brooms to Hogwarts, then the series of New Year's Eve articles skilfully written by Rita about the Ministry Ball, followed by the Witch Weekly articles. After that it was the still unfolding events of the arrest of Lord Malfoy, the man's trial, and his role as one of Lord Malfoy's intended victims. Finally, the public would soon learn about his family Lordships, along with his redevelopment and radical expansion of the Potter docks.

In short, his name was already out there, and wouldn't be forgotten about for a good long while. Perhaps it was time to admit the benefits of relative anonymity would forever be denied to him and make the best of it?

With this thought, he realized the decision was already made for him; he would try to take his exams early, and he would _ace_ them. He would reach for the top and make his parents proud of him, like he had long vowed to do. Another motivator was the fearful talk going around the school that if students wanted to play quidditch or use their Hogsmeade passes, that they had to be passing all their subjects. That suited him just fine, since he was the top student in his year, followed by Granger.

Thinking of the lions once again, he realized that the Gryffindor quidditch team would be in serious trouble if this rumour actually turned out to be true, given the malevolent nature of Professor Snape. But that wasn't his problem; if anything it would actually increase Ravenclaw's chances of winning the quidditch tournament, which was a good thing in his book.

Finishing with his copying, he immediately ordered Kreacher to return the marking scheme to Remus' room without being seen. The cogs in his mind continued to turn, as he mulled over all his ongoing schemes and short and long-term goals.

Getting up from his desk, he decided that it was high time he looked up a memory charm or two. That particular skill could be a lifesaver in a pinch.

**Midnight Lord**

**Hogwarts**

Daphne discreetly watched from the leather couch as Draco quietly made his way through the half empty common room, the former self-proclaimed 'Prince of Slytherin' an image of defeat. His ruin was so complete not even his old friends associated with him anymore, his court of loyal sycophant followers shattered irreparably.

Not that she thought anything less of Draco's former friends for ditching him in favour of better prospects and allies; it was the smart thing to do after all, the Slytherin thing to do.

Draco and his once prestigious family name, someone that Pansy had once bragged about so fondly, was now nothing more than an anchor, a dead weight ready to drag the unwary down to their doom, what with the utter collapse of his family's prestige and influence. It was so deliciously ironic. For the last decade and more the Malfoy name had been associated with seemingly limitless influence and success. Merely being in the family's favour was a recipe for profit and almost guaranteed success. Now... now the name was associated with murder and crime.

Pansy had already begun testing the waters, with subtle advances towards her and Tracy, to see if she could successfully drift into Daphne's group after having abandoned her prince, her betrothed, to his certain fate. She suspected that Pansy and Draco's marriage contract would soon be officially ended, given such contracts always had numerous escape clauses weaved into them that Lord Parkinson could easily use to cancel the proposed marriage; the loss of family position and/or prestige had been virtually boiler plate for such contracts for millennia.

Besides, Draco was hardly a likeable individual to begin with, nor was he all that talented magically or in the possession of a powerful magical gift useful to his betrothed's family. Perhaps then, and only then, would there have been a small chance of his still marrying well, even with his family's fall to ruin. Unfortunately for him he had shamelessly thrown around his family's name and prestige for the last year and half to get his way in Slytherin, bullying and threatening anyone he could into submission. When that failed he would run to his godfather, which was hardly the Slytherin way of doing things. Such pitiful, spineless actions had cost Draco a great deal of respect and had made himself a lot of powerful enemies. When his family was powerful, he was insulated from reprisal, but now he had no such protections.

It was not so much that Draco had used his godfather's position as a means to retaliate either; it was mostly the fact that it was the same tired response, rather than Draco growing a spine and trying to deal with the matter himself through Slytherin cunning and cleverness. He simply ratted everyone out to his godfather, spinning fanciful tales that made him look good, even when the blame rested solely on Draco. To make matters worse, Draco's constant badgering and many failures skirmishing with Neville Longbottom and his lackeys just made the rest of Slytherin house look stupid, pathetic, and weak in front of the whole school, costing them all respect! No one was taking Slytherin seriously anymore! No one feared them!

Then he had so transparently bribed his way onto their quidditch team using his father's blood money and godfather's position as head of house just so that he could play seeker against Longbottom. Only for that to backfire with Harry's donation of new brooms to the remaining quidditch teams. If Malfoy had _actually won_ after that, perhaps his heavy handed actions could have been forgiven and forgotten. His two subsequent defeats had ultimately cost them any chance at winning the quidditch cup. And that wasn't something _anyone_ was going to forget! Some would say that Harry had also bribed his way onto the Ravenclaw Quidditch team with his donation, but everyone knew that he had competed fairly in the open tryouts to earn his spot on the team, and then proven his ability and placement was fair in front of the whole school by winning two games for Ravenclaw. You couldn't argue with results. Harry, even as a Ravenclaw, acted a hundred times more like a Prince of Slytherin should, unlike Malfoy, and he made it look _easy_.

Now _everything_ had changed.

Slytherin was not a kind, supporting house where everyone played nice and held each others' hands like Hufflepuff was known to do. Everyone here was out for themselves and ultimately their families, where friendships were instead viewed as temporary personal alliances, at best, with only a few exceptions. Slytherin was the house where the game of rank and status was played every second of every minute of every day, and Draco had failed at that game miserably. Some of it was, of course, out of his hands, but the boy had done just about everything he could to sabotage his chances of weathering this storm long before his father was arrested.

She knew why Pansy was approaching her group rather than Nott's little group, which consisted of the thuggish Crabbe and Goyle.

_Harry Potter_.

It was now well known amongst Slytherin that it had been the Ravenclaw seeker that had brought down the Malfoy family over the course of this year, which was something more and more Slytherins were taking notice of due to the newspaper articles. Then there was the impressive fact that he had somehow managed to successfully become an animagus at 12, and the whispered rumour going around the school she had leaked that Harry had neutralised Professor Snape by manipulating the Professor so masterfully that the man had signed a binding magical contract without even reading it! Another whispered rumour going around the school, was that Harry had been the one responsible for resealing the Chamber of Secrets, but that one hadn't been started by her, which meant that it had probably been started by Harry himself.

Harry had also killed an adult mountain troll in his first year, and that was known to be no rumour, another impressive feat that was well known around the school and thus everyone's parents. All this suggested prodigious magical power, which was attractive for any true Slytherin, not to mention his status as the dual heir to the Potter and Black fortunes, the first by blood and the second by selection, making him a _very_ attractive ally despite his young age and the years until he reached his majority and became an adult wizard. Once he turned 17 and took up his Lordship he would have full access to his family's fortune and Wizengamot seat.

Then there was the rather amusing fact that Pansy was obviously quite smitten with Harry due to their dance at the New Years ball. It was a well known secret that Pansy had cut out the photo of her and Harry dancing together at the New Year's Eve ball and that it now decorated the mirror in her dorm room. She intended, in time, to allow Pansy to join their little group, along with Pansy's own little follower Millicent in the foreseeable future, but only as 'lackeys,' since it would increase her own standing and influence in Slytherin to have another pair of followers, and would promote her group over Notts as the most powerful.

But not for a while, Pansy would have to earn her own way in. Plus she needed to talk to Blaise and Tracy about it first, since Tracy personally loathed Pansy with a passion. Naturally, she would have to establish herself as the 'leader' of the group and enforce that position ruthlessly until Pansy accepted her place in the new order of things, which should be rather easy.

Thinking of Nott, she concluded that Theo and Blaise would quickly be coming into conflict now, with Draco's removal from the 'throne' and the power vacuum it had created. 'I'll have to talk to Blaise about it,' she mentally noted.

"What are you thinking about Daphne?" Blaise asked from her side, as he sat down besides her, causing her to look over to meet his eyes, her intended giving her a light peck on her cheek, an act appropriate for their stage of betrothal.

"Just thinking about how fast one's status can rise and fall," she answered back thoughtfully, as Blaise nodded in thoughtful agreement. She privately hoped that she never ended up like Draco, but nothing was ever certain in life. She would need to make plans should the worst ever happen.

"Have you seen the photos of Lord Malfoy in the hospital looking like a drooling idiot?" he asked in a low tone to prevent his voice from being overheard.

"No, I haven't," she replied, whilst wondering what photos Blaise was referring to.

"Some Gryffindors are handing them out; I don't know how they got a hold of them, probably the Weasley twins' doing," he answered back thoughtfully. "I wonder if Draco has seen them yet."

"If he had, he would have already gone crying to Snape about it, or would be raging about it trying to attract some attention, or pity," she answered in a bored tone, quickly losing interest in the subject, but having a feeling as to who might be truly behind those photos. It had just the right mix of vindictive practicality to it.

"True, Draco is a bit of a cry baby these days," Blaise agreed with a smirk. "I just wished he did it quietly and discreetly."

"Did he start crying and ranting again last night?" she asked, her opinion of Draco dropping even lower.

"Yes, cursing and threatening everyone like a miniature dark lord, rather funny really, but seriously annoying when you're trying to get some sleep. I had to stun him so I could get to sleep," he replied in an annoyed tone as a small smile slipped onto her lips. "When is Harry going to be back anyways?"

She raised a delicate eyebrow in a questioning manner, whilst hiding her shock at Blaise's unexpected question about Harry behind an icy mask of indifference. Blaise rarely showed any interest in Harry, and had expressed on several occasions his strong dislike for the Potter family heir. "You know, you're the fourth person to ask me that today alone."

"Really? Who else asked?" her intended probed.

"Your older sister for one, I don't suppose you're going to tell me why she was suddenly interested in a second year?" she asked, wanting to know what was really going on.

Blaise's cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment at her question, as the Italian boy was obviously taking a moment to weigh his response before replying. "Probably my mother's doing," he answered with indifference, as he gave an uncaring shrug, before being forced to explain further upon realizing that the answer wasn't going to be good enough for her. "I received a letter this morning from my mother, urging me to 'develop my friendship' with him, due to new business opportunities with him and his godfather, Lord Black. I assume that my sister has received similar instructions and is acting on them in her own unique way."

Thinking over his reply for a moment, it made perfect sense that Lady Zabini would want to align herself and her family closer to Lord Black and Harry, due to both the Greengrass and Zabini families having common business interests. After all, her own parents had given her similar instructions last year to befriend Harry, but why was Blaise's older sister being given such orders when Blaise was in the same year as Harry and thus much better placed to carry them out? "That hardly explains your sister's sudden involvement," she noted aloud, her tone making it clear that it was a question rather than a casual remark. 'Unless he had already failed in the task, then it would easily explain why his sister was getting involved,' she mentally added.

"I may have mentioned that he was already close friends with several other older female students," Blaise added with his own casual shrug, his answer automatically reminding her of both Penny and Tonks. "So when will Harry be back?"

"The start of next week, but it depends on what security arrangements are made, otherwise he may be home studying for a while," she answered, providing both an answer as well as a reasonable excuse in case her information was incorrect or changed suddenly, to which Blaise nodded. It was a fair payment in information, considering he had shared information on what his mother had instructed him and his sister.

"That's good," Blaise noted aloud.

"What do you make of Professor Snape being the new DADA professor?" she enquired, deciding it was time to change the subject before Blaise started fishing for more information on Harry. If she didn't want to part with some facts, it could drive a wedge between her and her betrothed.

"Far better than Lockhart, and we get a legitimate excuse to curse Gryffindors," Blaise added with a smirk. "However the homework is terrible! Two essays a week! One is hard enough as it is."

"You heard what our 'beloved' head of house said, we need to catch up with the defence material as quickly as we can, as we are majorly behind the desired targets for our age. If we want any hope of being successful for our exams, we have to work hard now." Daphne defended, actually agreeing with her head of house for a change. "The fifth and seventh years have it far worse than we do."

"I suppose," Blaise reluctantly agreed.

"If it makes you feel any better, I asked my parents about Professor Slughorn. They said he's a very skilled potions master and teacher, and is especially kind and helpful to his favourites. He even throws little parties for them," she offered, as she recalled her father's letter comparing the professor to a spider. "He even invites former notable students who have been successful, so we can network and get some valuable contacts for the future."

"That's cool," he replied. "Did your parents say how you actually _become_ one of his favourites?"

"You just need to show you have both ability and potential," she answered evenly, already working out a way to get into the new professor's good graces. "Harry already knows the professor, he can always introduce us if need be," Blaise's face darkened in annoyance at that answer, obviously his dislike for Harry hadn't truly disappeared with his mother's letter. The idea of he and his betrothed needing Harry Potter's largess to be noticed by Slughorn obviously not sitting well. "Not that it will be necessary."

"No, it won't," he agreed, with a firm nod.

"We also need to talk about what you are going to do about Theodore, with Draco weakened and in disgrace you are Theodore's biggest rival," she lectured, Blaise groaning in annoyance, at the idea of the future power struggle or her giving advice/orders on the subject, she didn't know.

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note**: Happy Christmas All!

Thank you for all your support and feedback, but most of all thank you to my Beta **Joe** for all his efforts, and for putting up with me!

**P.s** I'm not 100% Happy with this chapter, so I'll probably rework it at some point.


	43. Y2 Aftermath Pt3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated: M**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author Note: **Sorry about the long break between updating, I've just had so many distractions in real life, and the PC unfortunately caught a virus. Time for a final pairing to reveal... maybe? This chapter will have a wide range of points of view, just so everyone can get idea of the extent and progression of every story plot, and how it's all interconnected with cause and effect.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 43: Aftermath Pt3**

**Posted 19****th**** March 2014**

**Revised and Beta'd by 'Joe Lawyer'**

Straightening his formal Potter household robes, the handsome Potter family crest was proudly on display on his broadening chest. The crest was outlined in traditional gold, to represent his status as the head of the Potter family, such as it was, with the Black family crest in a secondary position on his shoulder outlined in silver, indicating that he was both a part of the Black family as well as the currently acknowledged heir due to the silver outline. Other, 'official' members of the family would traditionally have a bronze or plain crest on their own robes. He pushed his growing black mane behind his ears once again as he smiled for the cameraman, his pet reporter Rita and Sirius moving out of the picture.

The cameraman was surprisingly quick at his job, snapping several photos before he was even ready. He tasted an acrid carbon in the air from the puffs of smoke from the camera. He gave the man a quick glare to indicate his displeasure, as he purposefully positioned his hands on his lap, allowing the three magical rings to be seen in the photo. The first two rings had been caught on camera many times before, but the third, now that one would certainly cause a stir, as soon as those even somewhat 'in the know' realized what it meant. He mightily resisted the urge to smirk at the chaos and confusion it would sow throughout magical Britain.

After a great deal of thought on the matter he had chosen to openly wear his Peverell Lordship ring for this interview with Rita, the ancient magical ring carefully positioned besides his Potter family ring, hopefully to show and imply its similar importance. Logically, he knew the photo wouldn't be able to capture the fine details of the ring, most people likely assuming it was simply for decoration, but one or two people might get what was being subtly implied. He tried to make himself look powerful and regal for this next photo. To aid him in that goal he had also made the deliberate choice to wear the formal and traditional ancestral robes of the Head of the Potter family, rather than wearing something more fashionable and modern, like he normally would for such interviews.

Some of the credit for the idea of carefully crafting a successful public image had to go to his Aunt Andy, who had helped him choose some of his clothes. Her extensive experience with the courts as a lawyer meant that she understood the importance of projected self-image to obtain influence and to impress. Rita's reporting enhanced this deliberate effect with flattering articles that portrayed him as a charming young heir to the masses. 'I need to properly thank the pair of them sometime,' he mentally noted as he continued to smile for the camera. The urge to fiddle with his robes was increasing.

Of course, the ceremonial robes he was now wearing were not the original ones the previous Lord Potters had worn to the Wizengamot for centuries. Unfortunately, _those_ had been destroyed when his ancestral family manor had been burnt to the ground during a Death Eater attack, the same attack which had claimed the lives of his grandparents. Once again, the idea that so much history had been lost, that the ancestral home that had nurtured his family and seen the births and deaths of so many of his ancestors was destroyed...it made his blood boil for revenge. To his credit these thoughts didn't appear on his face, the years at the Dursley's for once helping him to hide his true feelings of rage behind a mask of cheerfulness. He had plenty of experience at that. These new robes had actually been carefully and painstakingly recreated using various old photos in the family vault and official pictures in old editions of the Daily Prophet, only slightly updated to give it a more modern and stylish look. While he paid homage to the history of his family, the slightly more modern look suited him perfectly, because his family was essentially being reborn under his leadership. Now that he thought about it, the rebirth of his house was much like a phoenix rising from the ashes of destruction to begin a new life, this imagery led to a much more genuine smile to be captured by the camera.

In short, his new robes were a careful mix of modern fashion infused with the traditional symbolism of ages past, nicely linking him to the ancient symbolic robes his forbearers once wore for his first head long dive into the murky waters of Wizengamot politics and the back room deals of high society.

There were several good reasons for why he was wearing the traditional style family robes favoured by the head of houses for this photo session. The first being the robes would help tie him to the rich legacy of the Potter family visually. It would also tell many of the neutral, more traditional families, that he was 'one of them,' cut from the same old cloth, rather than some presumptuous upstart. Hopefully this would help to influence some undecided votes in his favour. The new robes also screamed 'old money,' which was also a good thing, since the magical world revolved around gold and family connections.

And his choices in robes weren't solely an affectation meant to manipulate those people; he truly did have a great respect and appreciation for history and tradition. After all, if you didn't learn from the past you were bound to make the same stupid mistakes as your ancestors did. Human nature hadn't changed much, even in a few thousand years. And furthermore, tradition helped to unite society under a common set of values and practices. However, unlike so many others in the wizarding world, he didn't see tradition as some unchangeable thing set in stone, never to be touched. _Yes_, tradition in this case had been quite good to him, and was the sole reason why he was now able to sit in the Wizengamot despite only being 12 years of age, but it could also be an anchor. An anchor around their collective necks leading to stagnation and decay and an unwillingness for society to adapt to a changing world. Some traditions _should_ fall away when they became untenable or no longer made sense, so that new ones could take their place.

Of course, he would be keeping these 'modern' and most 'radical' thoughts firmly to himself for some time to come, rather than voice them aloud and alienate possible allies and votes, and lose potential business deals. Such reformist opinions could wait until he was older and in a far stronger political and financial position, with deep gold reserves and firmly developed trade deals that no one would want to see ended. 'I need to set up another meeting with Lord Patil,' he reminded himself, wondering if the well connected Indian ambassador that had dismissed his original proposal the previous summer would be more interested in dealing with him now. His star was on the rise. Soon his three Lordships would be known by all, his plans for the docks revealed, and his pockets flush with Malfoy gold and business assets. He considered the idea of sending the man a message, before ultimately dismissing it. The main reason why he was hesitant, despite the Patil's business being a perfect fit for the Potter Docks, were the talks he had had with his friend Padma about Indian culture and the way they concluded large and long-lasting business deals. Her father, the Lord Patil, would almost certainly propose to seal the business deal and their families' long-lasting business alliance through marriage. While he wasn't strictly opposed to it, and frankly knew that many British families would propose something similar under the circumstances, it just wasn't something he wanted at this time. The idea of simply going through with it was tempting though, despite his feelings. The Patils and the Potters would both benefit greatly for many years to come with such a business alliance in place. Their alliance could also make his penetration in foreign markets that much smoother as well. The camera flashed again releasing another puff of greyish smoke.

But the main reason for wearing the traditional ancestral robes of state was that he wanted people to begin associating him specifically with the position and persona of _the_ _Lord Potter_, in preparation for Malfoy's upcoming trial and his eventual induction to the Wizengamot's ranks as an entity independent from Sirius, upon completing his time at Hogwarts.

Furthermore, from a practical perspective, despite the new robes being both stylish and very fashionable, the ornate and voluminous robes gave him the opportunity to have a number of protective enchantments and runes woven into the acromantula silk, with a discreet layer of thin, but highly protective and magically reinforced dragon hide skilfully hidden between the layers of silk. The dragon hide was primarily meant to protect his centre mass and internal organs from harm, as the torso was the most likely part of him to be targeted and hit in a fight. Predictably, he also had several magically concealed and expanded pockets added to the interior of the robes. These were purposefully designed and tested so that they wouldn't be scannable by most detection charms, allowing him to smuggle an item or two within the robes. He smirked at the idea of going into politics with hidden body armour and hidden pockets capable of carrying extra weapons. After all, wizard politics were often a bloody, backstabbing affair. Betrayers were often disguised as friends and allies, that's what made them so effective. It was often said that "the bigger the smile, the sharper the knife." Many had met their end by disregarding that bit of wisdom.

Having the magically reinforced dragon hide woven into the robe, especially in so stealthy a fashion, had been an incredibly difficult and obviously custom project and thus _extremely_ expensive, but what good was gold to him if he was _dead_? For mobility's sake and to keep others from realizing what he was wearing by having movements too stiff to be natural, the dragon hide didn't extend to his arms, but arms could always be re-grown with enough time and money, which he easily had, and assuming that no dark magic was involved in inflicting the original wounds.

Naturally, the acromantula silk had also been treated with several powerful magical potions, some even close to alchemical in nature, to strengthen the already magical fabric further to increase its durability, since it wouldn't do for the silk to fail under the stress of combat. Other potions were added to make it more resistant to fire based spells as well. Fire-proofing charms and runes had also been applied to the silk, enabling the robe to stand up to even dragon fire if need be, but only for a couple of seconds. This same magic would also protect him from most magical acids that dark wizards often enjoyed conjuring in battle.

Yes, it was a tad paranoid, but after recent events nothing but the best would do for his personal protection! Besides, being overly paranoid was only a bad thing when you didn't have people after you! 'It's a shame Caesar didn't wear body armour,' he noted, as he thought about the famous roman general, wondering what history would be like if the assassinated Roman statesmen and master general had taken greater steps to protect himself from harm.

Those thoughts inevitably led him to think more about how he could also protect himself better. 'To start with, I really need to get another wand... or two,' he noted. A wizard without his wand was close to a muggle in capabilities, probably even less due to an inability to think of solutions without resorting to magic. A primary wand and a backup wand on his person at all times, in concealed holsters, with another wand in a safe location at home in case both primary and backup were taken or destroyed... 'Maybe a small portkey on my person at all times, for quick escapes when needed,' he mentally listed. 'Maybe some potions as well?' Healing potions would be a good idea, like the blood replenisher, essence of dittany for wound knitting, pepper up...and a bezoar in case I'm ever poisoned. Now that was a good idea considering recent events. The cameraman took another poorly timed photo interrupting this incredibly productive train of thought, temporarily blinding him due to his now sensitive, magically enhanced eyes. He sent a quick glare at the photographer in response, his inner tiger getting rather irritated at the annoying man.

'I can't change and rip his head off. I can't change and rip of his head off.,' he mentally repeated to himself like a mantra, having to resort to occlumency based calming exercises to restrain his more feral side, his hands/claws unconsciously flexing.

He knew his quicker, almost explosive temper was a combination of his teenage hormones flooding his rapidly developing body and the feral instincts of a male Siberian tiger. The fact that he had been effectively imprisoned in Number 12 for almost a month for his own protection didn't help, the residence only possessing a few outlets for his restless energy. So caught up in his own self analysis and indignation at being locked up, he didn't notice that Rita had detected the warning signs that he was silently emitting into the room. Whether her realization was due to the instincts of an experienced reporter, the magical bonds of a servant detecting her master's rising anger, or just her own animal instincts sensing the shift, he did not know.

"Take another. And this time, take a _proper_ photo!" Rita stressed, with a scathing undertone, knowing his wishes without a word being spoken, and clearly getting concerned that she would be blamed later for the cameraman's annoying behaviour.

It had been over three weeks since he had faked his death in an elaborate plot to catch the man responsible for the attempts on his life. Two and half weeks since Lucius Malfoy, the man responsible for attempting to kill him, had been caught red handed by the investigating Aurors in a sting operation. In the end Lucius had been caught, but his parents' spineless betrayer had somehow managed to escape and still avoid capture by the Aurors, even after all this time.

Privately, he suspected that by now Pettigrew had somehow managed to escape overseas, either by his own skills or more likely, by another invisible party helping him. Regardless of the how, it placed the rat firmly beyond their reach and the Ministry's Aurors. The matter wasn't helped any either by the fact that the Ministry was hesitant to ask for any other nation's help in the manhunt. However, that didn't matter much at the moment; Pettigrew had merely been the tool. The true _mastermind_ that had been behind the nearly successful attempts on his life had been caught, removing the threat for the time being. He smiled for his picture once again. It was a genuine smile, one of joy and anticipation as he thought about the mindless Lord Malfoy, drooling away in the hospital, and the thought of the swiftly approaching dismantlement of the Malfoy family name and assets. Revenge would be sweet; it would be even sweeter if there was gold involved.

The attempts on his life this last half year, while of course being frightening, had also been an eye opening experience, a transformative experience. He had hated the uncertainty, the thought of being powerless, lacking control. The fact that at any moment his life could be stolen from him had hardened him. But the unfortunate events had also been a boon for him in many ways. It had focused his mind on what was truly important in that moment, giving him a powerful motivation to focus his time and energy on developing key skills, like those that would serve him well in combat, as well as giving him the push to move more quickly on the Potter Docklands' reconstruction, despite the risks involved. Secondly, due to the press positively lapping up the juicy sob story of a polite, well-mannered orphan boy, targeted for death by the power hungry and corrupt Lord Malfoy, his popularity and political capital was at an all time high. With the wider public lapping up the skilfully written stories, his fame and standing in the magical world had improved tremendously, becoming a household name, almost akin to the Boy-Who-Lived. At the same time, several articles had been written and published that strongly implied that his godfather's wrongful imprisonment had been engineered by the Lord Malfoy in an attempt to steal the Black family name and fortune. Of course, there was no real evidence, just speculation, but the 'rumour' helped to damage the Malfoy name even further in the public's eyes.

This was true _power_ in many ways, the way he could invisibly reach out to manipulate and influence magical Britain, the ability to bend and distort the truth to _his_ benefit through his puppet of a reporter. Right now not only was she producing and directing a wonderful sob campaign to garner him sympathy, but she was also conducting a systematic campaign of character assassination against the Malfoy family, in preparation for their court hearing. Each member of the family, and frankly anyone even remotely associated with them, was being discredited to the point that victory was almost certain.

Yes, it was an underhanded tactic, one what would never work in the non-magical world due to laws against defamation, but with only one true newspaper in magical Britain, with their star reporter under his control, and no laws preventing such defamation, he could get away with ordering it.

Frankly, he didn't care if the tactic he was using was less than noble and was 'outside' the traditional noble values of the Potter family. He had to be ice cold to survive in this world by himself, like a persistent winter storm, as he slowly buried the Malfoy family in the following days. He was playing for keeps, nothing more and nothing less. The price to be paid for trying to kill him, to end his family line forever, was the complete destruction of the Malfoy family for good. He would destroy their legacy and their name as well, which meant any tactic was fair game in his book.

The reason was simple, he wanted to, no, _needed_, to send a message to anyone else with designs on messing with him. The message was that he played for keeps, and wouldn't be intimidated, or bullied into submission simply because he was only 12 years old. To those who sought to attack him he wouldn't just go after the one responsible; he would go after the entire family and destroy them, as he remembered the Sorting Hat's words. Yes, it might be overly harsh and ruthless, but he wouldn't leave an enemy behind him to strike him in the back when he was down or distracted. He was the _last _Potter. It rested on his shoulders alone to rebuild the Potter family, to rebuild the foundations to see it last long into the future, for another thousand years. That had long been his driving force...and he couldn't afford to show mercy and restraint now. Those who sought to destroy him would be taken down ruthlessly and without mercy. There was no other way forward.

His pet reporter's task of character assassination was made infinitely easier upon the aurors seizing the Malfoy family manor. An intensive search of the home and property had dug up loads of dirt on the man and his family. The graphic photos of the medieval torture chamber hidden beneath the manor filled with old fashioned and bloody torture devices, and a room chock full of extremely dark and cursed artefacts on display, like a private museum from previous dark wizards and lords, had made for several incredibly damning stories. The best photo had been of the way the Lord Malfoy proudly and prominently displayed his former death eater robes and white mask, along with a large number of unregistered wands, obviously used for nefarious purposes. Rita and several other reporters at the Daily Prophet had managed to spin that story for _days_.

He suspected that Madam Bones, or perhaps one of her subordinates, had shared the incriminating and oh so damaging photos with the paper, because he certainly wasn't behind it. The flash of a camera blinded him again for a moment, but he blinked it away before forcing a smile as another flash occurred. Rita stood watching in a lovely and actually very flattering outfit, an outfit which kept his godfather's eyes wandering to Rita's well defined rump and semi exposed chest.

He had lessened the restrictions he had first placed on Rita's choice of wardrobe in the last couple of days as a reward for her good service to him, thus giving her greater personal freedom as a reward, which seemed to have earned him some points with her. Luckily for his eyes, Rita knew better than to fall back on her old habits completely and had forgone wearing the bright green she had previously been known for. He knew that giving gold was a good reward and one that he could use repeatedly, but personal freedom of choice would be a far better reward, and it would show that he would lessen the reigns of control on her if she behaved properly and in a way he would approve of. It also gave him something else he could take away if she needed to be punished or reeled back in.

Today she was wearing an attractive red and black two piece number, with a red gem encrusted jacket and a black skirt with red line stripe down the side which stopped just beneath the knee. She also wore a pair of black stockings or tights, completed with an attractive pair of black four inch heels with a cute red bow on the tip. A new and growing part of him wanted to see just what was beneath the outfit, but he reined in this primitive impulse. Sirius was dressed in his formal robes for this occasion, nothing as elaborate or decorative as his own, but still quite fashionable, which further enhanced his godfather's roguish good looks. The rogue that was his godfather had already mentioned several times after their previous meetings with Rita that he would happily 'bang that ass like a drum.' His godfather's eyes stole another naughty glance at Rita, before noticing that Harry had seen the look. The dog animagus grinned like a bad boy that been caught stealing a cookie.

'Interesting,' he noted silently to himself, as he smiled directly at the camera, easily able to guess just what his godfather was thinking about and what the effect of Rita's fire engine red lips was having on the dog animagus' mind.

Rolling his eyes at his godfather's behaviour caused Rita to look over her shoulder to examine his now straight faced godfather. The look on his face was so ridiculously fake, it was laughable. She then looked back at him with a smirk on her lips. He now knew that Rita had noticed, or at least suspected just what had transpired between the pair, but the reporter chose to say nothing. He wondered for a moment if he could use his godfather's attraction for his own ends, or if perhaps Rita herself would use that attraction for her own ends.

It wasn't yet a matter of concern, but numerous marriage contracts and offers had been made by several respectable households since last summer for their unmarried daughters, for both himself and Sirius. Of course, no one knew about his godfather's infertility, otherwise this level of interest wouldn't exist for the middle aged Lord Black. Predictably, with all the recent positive news articles about himself and the highly publicised case against Lord Malfoy, he had also received far more marriage offers.

Ninety percent of the marriage offers he had received were nothing more than polite feelers for interest, Lords and Ladies testing the proverbial waters for their unmarried daughters with those of (relatively) similar age, social standing and personal wealth to his own. The one made by Padma's own father was in the same vein, which resulted in the offer receiving a personal reply, or like the one made by Lady Parkinson on behalf of her daughter Pansy.

They had used the excuse of his young age as the reason for the lack of interest in the matter at the time, thus giving them a way of setting the matter aside to be visited in the future without giving offense. The camera flashed again. Another five percent were much pushier, believing that they were somehow more special, practically demanding a meeting which Harry had no interest in. The other five percent were just plain stupid or _disturbing_ enquiries. One of the most disturbing offers was made on behalf of a 97 year old witch who was interested in a new boy toy for her remaining years. Even though wizards and witches aged far slower physically than muggles, that was just plain _disgusting._ The other was made on behalf of a three year old little girl, for marriage when she reached 17. He spotted Sirius' eyes once again wandering to Rita's ass. Whilst he was naturally reluctant to meddle in his godfather's love life, as he would hate for his godfather to meddle in his own, he couldn't deny the fact that he was worried about what would happen if his godfather married someone whose agenda ran counter to Harry's own, someone who didn't get along with him, someone who could _influence_ Sirius and damage his own plans for the future. On the other hand, Sirius' womanising was a weakness as far as he was concerned, an easy means for an assassin to get access to Sirius with his guard down and strike at the family. He shifted uneasily at the thought.

'Lucius should have targeted Sirius. It would have been far easier to get to him,' he noted grimly, as he spared a look at his godfather, even as he started to mentally list the man's weaknesses that could be exploited and used against him. He grimaced; the mentally compiled list was long.

"Is there something wrong?" Rita asked, interrupting his thoughts. Once again he wondered how she knew something was distressing him.

Quickly realizing his slip, he replied, "No, my apologies, just a momentary lapse in attention." He forced a smile for the camera once more. With his mask restored, his mind turned back to his previous line of thought.

Sirius getting married could also threaten his succession to the position of Lord Black, potentially robbing him of his position and influence as Sirius' heir if a direct heir was produced, despite the highly unlikely odds. After all, magic was magic, meaning there was _always_ a small chance of an heir being born, and Sirius was certainly a man with a strong sexual appetite Even if a child wasn't conceived, a new wife might be able to persuade Sirius to declare _another_ his heir, selected from a distant branch of the Black family tree rather than Harry, who was already heir to two families. The purebloods had intermarried so much over the years there were probably many with Black blood close enough to qualify as 'family.' Technically speaking, Draco was his closest rival by blood, followed by Andy's own bloodline as potential challengers, but Draco and thus any children he might produce in the future had already been disinherited, along with his mother Narcissa due to her marriage to Lucius Malfoy. That couldn't easily be undone. Again, though, _not_ impossible.

'I should marginalize Draco further,' he decided, knowing there was no such thing as too safe. But the question was how to do it, short of outright killing the lad. He considered the possibilities.

Perhaps he should attempt to get Rita and his godfather together? His fear of being displaced as the Black family heir would be next to impossible with the hold he had over her, due to the magical vows, thus securing his position from being usurped. The camera flashed again with a large puff of smoke, making him wonder just how many more photos the man was going to take before he called it quits. However there was one problem with this developing plan, Rita was already seriously dating someone else, a man called Malcolm. His thoughts flashed back to the file Rita had assembled on her lover. This meant he would have to break the pair up. That would be a minor issue, solved with a simple order; nevertheless, he was hesitant to give it, as it would almost certainly permanently damage his relationship with his pet reporter and cause her to fight back against his control in whatever way she could. He considered the pros and cons of this idea.

He decided to delay such plans for a while, or at least until after the court hearing was done, since he didn't want Rita's opinion of him to suffer during such a crucial period. And there was always the chance that Sirius would end up dating someone that Harry actually liked or maybe just continued his womanizing and never staying with one woman for all that long. While it invited one danger, it ended the other of his being replaced. He mentally marked the possible plans for Rita as a backup.

"I think that will be enough photos for the article," Rita told the cameraman that accompanied her to the interview, before she turned to him and Sirius with a genuine smile. "Thank you again for agreeing to the interview."

Sirius was quick to respond with a doggish grin, "No problem, no such thing as too much publicity after all, and you do always write the most flattering articles about us." Harry kept the smirk from showing on his face as he got up out of the chair he had been sitting in for the photo session.

He took over for his godfather at that point. "Why would we go to another reporter? You say the nicest things about me. 'A charming young man, a wonderful catch for any girl,'" he recited with a smile, quoting one of her previous articles about him, as he looked over toward his godfather before smiling.

"It's all true," she replied with a false smile, one that he recognised for what it was. Sirius grinned, clearly buying the little act going on between the pair.

"Thank you Ms. Skeeter, you're too kind," he replied, carrying on with the act. "Will you be attending the trial of Lord Malfoy this upcoming Wednesday?" he politely enquired, as the chat quickly settled into polite small talk about the upcoming trial.

**o_ooo000ooo_o**

"My Lord?" Rita asked timidly through the small hand held mirror, clearly taken off guard by his unexpected communication in the middle of the day.

He really did love that, how that 'My Lord' sounded, how it made him feel powerful and in control. He was never going to be someone who wanted to be "just Harry" or asked everyone within moments of meeting them to call him by his first name. Those people were fools and undeserving of his respect. "What do youthink of Sirius? _He_ thinks you're quite attractive," Harry asked, editing the choice of words since Sirius' original words he used to describe the reporter was about 'banging her like a drum,' and various other heavy handed sexual remarks which he doubted would be taken well by the reporter.

"Does it matter?" Rita countered, avoiding the question by asking her own.

He rolled his eyes at the transparently evasive answer, knowing from experience that this was a tactic commonly used by Rita to fish for more information, as well as to avoid answering questions she didn't want to. "Do you think my Godfather is attractive, or not? It's a simple yes or no question, I'm not asking for any specifics," he pushed, wanting an answer, just in case he decided to try to match Sirius and Rita together in the future.

There was a short pause before she replied with a single word, "Yes." This caused him to nod in response, as he noted that his scheme could potentially work if he decided to go ahead with it.

"Ok," he answered with a satisfied tone. "By the way, discreetly remind the public of the current Minister's _long_ and _very close_ friendship with Lord Malfoy. We don't want the Minister thinking the public has forgotten their mutually _corrupt_ close friendship, now do we. Maybe even compile a nice collage of old photos of the Minister and Lord Malfoy getting oh so cosy together. I'm sure there have been so many such pictures over the years in the Prophet that you'd have easy access to." Rita quickly nodded in thoughtful agreement, a little smirk on her face that he recognised as one of happiness at having another angle to fan the flames of scandal and write several articles doing it. "I look forward to reading your upcoming articles then. Have a good day, Rita." He then disconnected the magic flowing into the mirror and ended the call.

Everything was coming together as he desired, and soon the Malfoy family fortune would be his to use as he wished. He mightily resisted the urge to cackle like a mad James Bond villain, just as shadow jumped onto his lap, causing him to instinctively stroke the black cat's fur.

**Midnight Gold**

**Hogwarts**

Looking up from the essay she was reviewing to check on her temporary charge, she saw that Luna was once again off in her own little world, oblivious to everything around her, even as students moved through the library talking quietly to themselves. "You need to _rework_ this sentence Luna, it's a mouthful, and jumbled." She underlined the sentence with her quill. "Also, that fact you referenced isn't necessary since you used it for the first question, nor is it a good one in context. Just reference it briefly again, rather than repeating it in its entirety. Ok?" she asked the odd first year she was now mentoring on Harry's behalf.

"Ok, Penny," Luna answered back in a light tone. "I think Percy wants to talk to you," she speculated, as she noticed Percy walking through the library toward her, his back straight and rigid, much like the boy himself in personality, before stopping in front of their table.

"Good afternoon Penny, Luna," Percy greeted in a moderate, but friendly tone.

She returned his greetings, "Good day Percy, how are you today?" she politely inquired, as Luna added from besides her. "Good afternoon Percy, how is Ginny doing?" Luna asked, focusing on the gryffindor.

"She doing much better now Luna, but there are some fears she will have to redo her first year, since her recovery is taking longer than predicted. There have been several unforeseen difficulties," Percy explained in a low tone. "It's good to hear she's doing better," she replied with a smile, knowing that the 'Blue Pox' had just been a convenient cover story spread by the staff, but by the look of it, this knowledge strangely hadn't been shared with Percy, nor any of his siblings.

Over the last year Penny and Percy's relationship had shifted, with Penny gradually distancing herself from the ambitious gryffindor, both due to the demands of her NEWT studies and the fact that they now only shared one class, and frankly, due to her own lack of interest in the boy now. It also helped that every time she looked at Percy these days she felt a degree of distaste swirl up in her gut, silently suspecting that the lad saw her as nothing more than a baby maker. Never for her to have to a life and career of her own separate from his. She suddenly had the frightening image of herself looking like Molly Weasley in ten years time, with half a dozen kids running around a run-down kitchen.

Percy smiled slightly, "And I'm doing just fine, thank you Penny for asking. Do you mind if I join you?" Came the request, his hand already resting on the free seat next to her own.

Her first instinct was to say, 'No.' She knew that the seat had been intentionally chosen so that he could sit as close to her as possible. Maybe even so that Percy could try to use it as an excuse to discreetly and accidently feel her up beneath the desk. 'I can't _believe_ I kissed him,' feeling rather sick at the memory. 'What the hell was I thinking?!' But, perhaps she could use this to her advantage, just like Harry would do. "Sure Percy, but on one condition," she voiced in a more playful tone, already knowing that Percy would agree. "I'm helping mentor Luna here; you can sit with us if you also help her with her studies."

"Sure, Penny," he quickly agreed, taking the seat next to her. She didn't like the idea of outright manipulating people, but after being around Harry, she had learned that it was either play the game or be played. That was an unavoidable fact of life she was growing to realize.

Percy's method of mentoring was far different than her own, taking the attitude that 'I'm the boss and you'll do as I say' over her own more passive methods. The next 15 or so minutes passed rather smoothly, with Percy giving most of his attention to Luna and her studies rather than herself, giving her a chance to push on with her own studies, before the first leg brushed against her own beneath the desk.

Shifting her leg to break the unpleasant physical contact, she spared a quick glance at Luna who still had her signature dreamy expression on, even as Percy lectured away, clearly trying and failing to impress her with his heavy handed methods.

Noticing her attention, he turned his focus back to her and away from Luna, who rather humorously seemed to sigh in silent relief. "Penny? Do you have any plans for this weekend?" Percy enquired, taking a break from his lecturing.

She knew what Percy wanted, so she kept her answer as vague and wishy washy as she could, knowing that Percy was fishing for a date for the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. "I do have some plans for the afternoon Percy, but most of my plans depend upon the weather, and on how much of my work I get done during the evenings this week. Luna, remember you have a meeting with Professor Flitwick on Friday."

"Ok," Luna voiced, before drifting off once again to her own world.

Another uncomfortable silence fell upon the mismatched trio, as she chose to focus on her work, rather than talk with Percy any further, hoping that the cold shoulder she was giving him would give him the hint to leave. Unsurprisingly, Percy didn't get the hint. "What do you think of the changes made by Professor McGonagall?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

'What a dull subject,' she mentally noted, wondering if Percy even knew how to properly chat up a girl. "I believe the changes are for the better, you?" she asked, knowing Percy loved the sound of his own voice and wouldn't be able to resist an opportunity to expound on his opinions.

"Same," Percy agreed with a quick nod and an approving smile. "It's a good thing that there is new emphasis on discipline around the school; it's been far too lacking in recent years. Frankly it's about time someone did something about it. Then there is the new work ethic being enforced, requiring good grades in order to go on Hogsmeade weekends or be a part of school clubs. Even new rules on uniforms are a good thing in my book; it ensures everyone respects the uniform and good discipline on uniforms helps create self-respect." She nodded in response, agreeing with most of the points he raised.

"Your twin brothers don't seem to agree with you." She voiced, knowing that the twins had been having a hard time with the new school rules.

"What can you expect with those two slackers? They're always too busy goofing around, causing trouble," Percy offered with a firm shake of his head in disapproval. "It's about time they were reined in. Mother and Father were _always_ too soft on them if you ask me; they have no respect for authority and rank!"

"Very true," she agreed with her own nod, before adding. "And Professor McGonagall is restraining Professor Snape and Slytherin house..."

"Do you think Headmaster Dumbledore will be back?" Percy offered, as she took on a thoughtful look, considering what she knew about the situation.

"No, I don't think he will, unless Professor McGonagall willingly steps down, but I can't see that happening," she shared. "Do you?"

**o_ooo000ooo_o**

With no small amount of pride she strolled down the school's halls, her charges making a path for her as she made her way to her new office, some of them even going as far as to politely greet her, which caused her heart to warm up, leading her to return the greetings without ruining the stern image she was well known for.

Surprisingly, it was Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw house that had smoothly accepted her as the new headmistress with minimal trouble, with Gryffindor and Slytherin causing the most resistance amongst the student body.

The resistance coming from Slytherin house was to be expected, since she was the former Gryffindor head of house, and by default marked as an 'enemy' by the older students. She had also been responsible for restraining their Head of House's biased and inappropriate behaviour towards the rest of the school. And secondly, she had brutally cracked down on the Slytherin's unacceptable social behaviour that they had long gotten away with, such as bullying and verbal abuse. That had won her a lot of support from Hufflepuff and the muggleborn students, both of which were the Slytherins' primary victims.

Naturally, Hufflepuff had no issue with the new emphasis on hard work and good grades, since it was the cornerstone of their house's values, whilst Ravenclaw had always been a grade driven house.

Her former house of Gryffindor, on the other hand, had really surprised her, and _not_ in a good way, which was rather disappointing. She had expected her former house to be the most well behaved and supportive of her new appointment to the role of Headmistress. The reality was exactly the opposite, with most now rebelling in their own way, testing her at every turn, the vast majority buying wholesale into the idea that the former Headmaster had been unjustly removed from his position. The most vocal group opposing her leadership was lead by none other than Neville Longbottom, which somewhat surprised her, since she always assumed she was one his favourite staff members.

The boy's popularity had returned in recent weeks, mainly due to the Chamber of Secrets being largely forgotten about by his peers and the recent scandal involving Lord Malfoy. He was supported by Molly's boy, Ron, who was busy grumbling about the injustice of his detentions for poor grades and lack of good effort in class. She wasn't going to punish them for their words and opposition, since she had known for a long time that Dumbledore had paid very close attention to young Neville. The Weasleys were no surprise either, being long standing and extremely loyal allies of the old wizard, so naturally, they were inclined to side with the former Headmaster who had been their patron for so many years.

Then again, her recent actions hadn't won her any favours with Gryffindor house, in particular the fact that she was now actually enforcing the rules on school uniform. This was falling the heaviest on her former messy house, with Severus using that rule on a rather frequent basis to deduct a small amount of points. This was something she couldn't even challenge, because for once he was actually enforcing the rules. Furthermore, her new rules on minimum homework and grade standards resulted in several of her former lions suffering a series of detentions and the removal of the Weasley twins from their positions as beaters on the house's quidditch team, on account of their failing grades in multiple subjects. Oliver Wood had been given a similar warning about getting his grades up; otherwise he would suffer the same fate as the twins. It was always dangerous to get between a wizard and his quidditch; there were numerous stories of World Cup quidditch referees going missing after a match for making the wrong call, just to reappear months later in middle of the Sahara desert. She gave a small disapproving shake of her head at such disorder over a simple game, no matter how much she liked it personally.

She _knew_ the action of removing the troublesome twins was overly harsh on her former house and her former prized quidditch team, especially as she had previously ignored their failing grades for years until now. But things had changed with her ascendance to the role of headmistress of Hogwarts; she had to be scrupulously fair with her rulings to ensure that the staff and the whole population of the school saw her as a fair judge, and knew that the rules, while maybe not well liked right now, were being applied evenly to everyone. She had always known that this would be painful in the short-term, but firmly believed that it would bear fruit in the long-term. Her students would eventually see how it improved the learning environment and the overall education they received at Hogwarts, along with their parents. Her students receiving better grades would mean her changes would be supported, as they got results. However, if the grades went down, well, then she would be in trouble.

The bottom line was that she would _not_ play favourites like Albus did; she would be unbiased in all her rulings. She also had to prove she was the better head teacher to Britain, if she wanted to remain in power. She also silently hoped by forcing the mischievous twins to focus more of their energy on their grades and studies, it would also reduce the free time they had to cause trouble with their numerous pranks. However there was also the chance that all this extra studying would make the pranks far more impressive and creative, which could help the twins make their dream of owning a joke shop one day, a reality.

Nonetheless, this difficult situation was being made worse by Slytherin, who were now actually starting to use some of that collective cunning to bait and goad their hot headed Gryffindor classmates into starting fights, which naturally resulted in her former lions being punished more heavily for throwing the first spell. In short, most of Gryffindor house liked the old system better, where they could easily get away with their lazy, carefree attitude towards education and grades due mostly to the former headmaster's own laid back attitude to their schooling and discipline. Some of it was due to his faulty belief that 'kids will be kids' and that it just some '_harmless'_ fun. Though most didn't realize it also had a lot to do with the fact that Dumbledore was one man supposedly doing three full time jobs and didn't have time for much else.

Of course, there was one Gryffindor who heartily approved of all the changes, Miss Granger, who for a while openly argued in favour of the changes, before eventually falling silent rather than continue to be isolated in her own house. She did not blame the second year at all for keeping quiet with such pressure on her, not after the events of her first year and the fear of losing her new friends.

"_New Regime_," she said to the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to her office, before the lumbering monster moved to one side for her, granting her access to the moving stairwell to her office.

Her new office had once belonged to her former friend and mentor, 'former' because he was currently quite busy trying to get himself reinstated as headmaster and get her fired. This task was turning out to be a rather big problem for her former boss and a minor one for herself.

Ironically, even with his fall from grace and the loss of all his memories, Lord Malfoy was still being a thorn in Albus' side, quite the stubborn thorn too, and was actually indirectly the reason for the former Headmaster's current woes. The reason for this was funny in a way; the Headmaster or Headmistress of Hogwarts could only be removed from their position by the collective might of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. And for such a meeting to 'officially occur' and for their decision to have the power to remove her, _all_ eleven school governors had to be present for the 'removal' vote. Other matters could be decided without every member present, but the removal of the current head had to be with the full Board. A rather convenient rule in this case.

And to her good fortune, the school's governors had acted swiftly and rather rashly to save their combined hides by dismissing Lord Malfoy from his role as governor as soon as the scandal surfaced, in a bid to seemingly distance themselves from the rapidly unfolding national scandal that was making everyone even remotely connected to the man nervous, particularly his allies on the board. This meant that there were only ten official governors on the board at this time, exactly _one_ member short of what was required to hold the necessary vote for her dismissal. Fortunately for her, whilst she did not have the power to dismiss already appointed school governors from their positions, only she could put forward names of new candidate members to join the board, thus preventing a vote for her removal from being held as the board only had ten members and would continue to only have ten until she decided otherwise, which could be for a while.

In short, she could not be removed, at least not by the governors for the meanwhile, allowing her time to secure her position and gather allies and public support. Of course they could always pressure her to step down willingly, without the vote, by causing problems, but they had nothing to use against her, since all the faults of the previous administration rested squarely on Albus' shoulders, and she had all the current staff on her side, except Severus and Hagrid, but that was to be expected.

After all, time was on her side, which was something that Albus understood quite well, based on his increasingly frantic attempts to remove her from her new position. Every day that passed meant she would gradually be accepted more and more as the school's _rightful_ Headmistress, her bond with the school's wards and magic steadily deepening and her appointment being accepted by the wider world as perfectly normal and legitimate, whilst Albus' moans and groans about the injustice of his removal would slowly become less and less effective as the whole incident involving Lord Malfoy was gradually forgotten about and was replaced by yet another scandal. In time Albus' own powerful rivals, normally assembled behind Lord Malfoy, would find a new leader and regroup to present a new path of resistance to the Chief Warlock's reinstatement as Headmaster. Besides, there were other rules that worked in her favour if push came to shove, but for now, she was relatively safe.

Naturally, she had some candidates in mind to fill the free position on the school board, initially she was going offer the free seat to Lord Black, since her former pupil had given several large donations to the school in the last year and more importantly at the moment, wasn't on good terms with Albus, which would have been to her advantage in securing her position from being usurped. But, Filius had argued against the idea, since it could be seen as a possible bribe to buy their silence and support by the wider public and Albus would surely use his influence within the Prophet to portray it in such a way, even if bribes were commonplace in high social and government appointments.

Taking her seat behind her new, but old desk, she considered her candidate options for a long moment. She needed an ally, one that she could rely upon in the Ministry to support her rightful claim, someone neutral and well respected by all the political factions that made up the Wizengamot, someone who wouldn't be pushed around by Albus when he inevitably threw his weight around again. She pushed the candidates' names to the back of her mind since it wasn't a matter that could be rushed; this was something that needed some careful consideration, her future as headmistress depended on it. Besides, she had plenty of time before she had to pick a candidate, and there were several names in the forefront of her mind, such as Madam Bones, the strict but fair head of magical law enforcement who had never bowed down to Dumbledore.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she opened her office door. Her office held many of the same key features as it had under Albus' leadership, since it was the same room, with the only changes being in terms of its atmosphere and the aura the room now projected as a whole.

During Albus' 50 year reign as headmaster the room had had a bubbly, welcoming atmosphere of an old, erratic scholar, with the clear intention of putting visiting students at ease, but now that friendly easygoing aura was gone and had been replaced with the aura of a stern, organised disciplinarian, who you _didn't _want to cross. After all, the _only_ reason a student should even be in this office, as far as she was concerned, was if he or she was in trouble and their own head of house felt it was necessary to require her personal attention.

That being said there were some minor, almost trivial changes in the decoration, the clutter and junk gathered from the decades that Albus had called this office his own had been removed, the bookshelves were now filled with her own chosen books and ones gifted to the school, but there was far more space on the shelves so it didn't look like she was some kind of hoarder. The priceless artefact that was the Sorting Hat had been placed on a lower shelf where it was visible to all, rather than being left on the top shelf to gather dust next to the portraits of the former headmasters. Plus, with it being in her direct line of sight, hopefully she would use it as an aid, something to bounce ideas off. After a thousand years the Sorting Hat likely had a lot of knowledge and experience it could impart, if only asked.

The left behind silver candy bowl that she simply couldn't remove from the desk, despite her very best efforts, was now filled with her own choice of sweets, toffee mainly, merely because it had to be filled with something otherwise it would look stupid if left empty. But, unlike Albus' lemon drops, the toffee wasn't dosed with various potions to drug her pupils, like Albus did. Whilst she understood the reasoning behind such morally questionable actions, somewhat, she just didn't agree with the principle of drugging her charges just to get some easy answers and save a few minutes of her time. She gave a disapproving shake of her head at the very thought. Naturally, that wasn't the only thing Albus had been drugging during his term in office, it turned out the student meals had also had a weak contraceptive potion mixed into them every other week.

Once again, she understood why such an action was done, even if she disapproved of it, since it would be a newsworthy _scandal _if one of their young charges got themselves 'knocked up' as it were. Especially if it was a couple outside of an official marriage contract or if it caused another marriage contract between a pair of houses to be terminated due to an unexpected pregnancy. After all, the school was 'responsible' for their charges' safety and wellbeing, so the blame could fall directly upon her own shoulders and the schools, and they would be expected to pay compensation for their lack of 'care,' which amused her at the sheer _outrageousness_ of the idea that the school would be held responsible for such events.

Despite her prudish and very conservative nature, she had been teaching at this school for over 40 years now. She knew quite well that if her teenaged, hormone driven students wanted to have sex, she couldn't do much about it, short of locking up the whole school population in enchanted chastity belts for the duration of their education. Even at the reduced student population levels after the war with Voldemort, there were just too many students for the teachers and prefects to stop a couple of amorous students from finding one of a few hundred broom closets or empty classrooms in this large school. Whilst she understood the weak contraceptive potions was a possible solution, it seemed crude to simply drug the whole student body without their knowing consent, rather than teaching them to be responsible for their own sexual health and wellbeing. That would serve them far better in the future, outside of Hogwarts after all.

An evil, but brilliant thought suddenly crossed her mind, but her thoughts suddenly shifted as a puff of smoke appeared on her desk to reveal a sealed letter with the crest of the Ministry of Magic on the front. She didn't even need to open the letter to know that this was Albus' doing somehow, as she reached for the letter opener on the desk.

Throwing the envelope into the waste bin with more force than she originally intended, she carefully unfolded the official letter.

_Dear Professor McGonagall, Acting Head of Hogwarts_,

'Acting head?! What audacity! The board of governors confirmed my appointment weeks ago, you old bastard!' She mentally proclaimed, as she resisted the overwhelming urge to throw the letter into the open fireplace. Taking a calming breath, she realized the opening greeting had been intentionally chosen to anger and annoy her, meant as an insult and open challenge to her authority as Headmistress.

_It has came to the Ministry's attention that the school board of governors does not have a complete rota of members as it is required to have under the Hogwarts-Ministry Education Agreement of 1656, (__**Subsection 6, Paragraph 9 Subsection 5**__) with their being one empty seat that needs to be filled immediately if Hogwarts wishes to continue to receive financial support from the Ministry of Magic._

'That manipulative old bastard, he can't force a removal vote so he's going after the money,' now realizing Albus' plan to force her to pick a candidate sooner than she had intended. It was a good move. After all, she couldn't run the school without any gold! And it would be just the excuse needed to forcefully remove her. 'I need to check the school's Gringotts accounts, I also need to find out more about this _Hogwarts-Ministry Education Agreement_.' She felt another headache gradually developing, wondering where the original agreement document even was. She didn't even know such an agreement existed before this moment.

Turning her attention back to the letter that was the source of her current headache, she knew her headache was about to become even worse.

_Furthermore, a Ministry inspection of the school and its staff is required to ensure the school is meeting the rigorous standards set by the Wizarding Examination Authority, under the Education Agreement (__**Subsection 5, Paragraph 6 Subsection**__**4). **__Failure to meet the required standards will also lead to reduced funding._

'_Inspection_?! There hasn't been a Ministry inspection of the school in the 40 years I've taught here! This is Albus' doing!' Once again she knew beyond any doubt that this was all the former headmaster's doing. She definitely needed to get a copy of this damn agreement. If it had things to attack her with, perhaps it also granted her powers she wasn't even aware of. And considering this inspection had never happened in all the years she had taught here, perhaps there were other mandates that Albus had conveniently avoided or broken while headmaster. Two could play at this game!

**o_ooo000ooo_o**

"Why did they have to assign Snape to teach DADA as well? It's like he loves the stuff. Why couldn't they keep Professor Lockhart on?" Lavender moaned aloud, as Padma looked up from her studies at her twin best friend, who was struggling with her defence essay. "It's bad enough he teaches us potions!" Lavender hissed.

She nodded her head in agreement to Lavender's assessment, Professor Snape did seem to like the Dark Arts a bit too much for comfort, especially with the way he talked about it and the material, but it was also clear he knew the subject material very well and managed to hold the class' attention, this time from both the fear the man always generated in his students and the subject material. Then again it was well known that Professor Snape had served under You-Know-Who, but it was unclear whether he was a spy or not. Some rumours said that he had been _spying for_ the former Headmaster, others said that he had been _spying on_ the Headmaster for You-Know-Who, others said he was spying for both sides, and would've joined whoever won in the end.

"It's only for a couple more days; I've heard rumours that a 'Professor Slughorn' is going to take over potions for the remainder of the term." Her sister Parvati shared with the disgruntled table. "I asked dad about Professor Slughorn and was told the man was a big softy at heart with a sweet tooth for candy, but that he likes to play favourites." She tried to focus on her defence essay, specifically on the practical application of jinxes and hexes and curses in self-defense, over the use of more 'flashy' transfiguration magic.

"Yea, Tracy said the same thing about him," she offered to the group, whilst wondering if she could get Penny or Tonks to look over her essay later, since Harry would normally look at her DADA work for her. "Tracy found out from Daphne that Professor Slughorn likes to hold a little tea club for his favourites to attend and who he believes to be Hogwarts' 'high flyers.'" She looked towards her twin, who seemed to be struggling with her work, "Do you need a hand?"

Parvati was just as smart as her despite being sorted into Gryffindor house; the only real difference between them was that her younger twin sister always had a lack of interest in her studies, preferring company and gossip to that of a good book.

"Nah, I'm fine," her twin replied, as she saw the Weasley twins walk through the library.

She merely nodded her head, knowing her younger twin didn't like accepting help from her unless it was absolutely necessary. "So who is replacing the twins as beaters for the match against Slytherin?" she enquired in a light tone, as Lavender and her sister's faces darkened.

"Conn and Pine, I think," her twin answered. "Hopefully, Fred and George will be allowed back on the team before the next game against Slytherin. There is also talk of Longbottom being removed from the team as well due to his failing grades in two classes."

"Oh? What classes is he failing in then?" she asked.

"He's failing in potions and History of Magic," Lavender shared, her tone full of gossip. "Rumour also has it that he was foolish enough to copy Granger's own potions essay almost word for word. Little-Miss-Know-It-All was not pleased and Professor Snape actually looked like he was about to smile when he told the class. Professor Hooch is currently looking into it, but I _think_ Professor Snape just wants Neville removed to improve the Slytherin team's chances for the Quidditch cup this year."

"What an idiot. If that is confirmed it will be on his permanent record!" She voiced, her opinion of the Boy-Who-Lived dropping even further, as the group muttered in agreement to her assessment. "By the way, what is it like having Professor Hooch as your Head of House? Is she strict like she was last year?" She asked, as she remembered her first flying lessons.

"She's pretty cool actually, far more hands on than Professor McGonagall ever was, regularly popping into the common room to check up on us and ensuring that no one is causing any mischief," Lavender offered with a smile from besides her twin.

"She has also started having meetings with us individually, like I hear Professor Flitwick does with you Ravenclaws. Lavender had hers yesterday," Parvati added, as Lavender nodded.

"What did you talk about?" she asked, wondering if Professor Hooch's meetings were anything like Professor Flitwick's.

"A bit of everything really, since by the look of it she will be staying on as Head of Gryffindor house for the remainder of the school year, probably next year as well I think. She is actually smiling and enjoying her position, unlike Professor McGonagall who was always frowning. But she mainly wanted to talk about the subject options offered next year to third years, explained a bit about them and what career paths they would offer us."

"When is yours sis?" she asked, as she shifted her attention to her sister.

"Wednesday evening after dinner," Parvati replied.

**Midnight Gold**

The front door of Number 12 opened with a familiar creak of old hinges. He looked over his shoulder in the direction of the open door leading to the entrance hall, the house's protective identification wards automatically informing him mentally that it was his friend Remus. His aged friend then hung up his old grey coat on the coat rack. "Remus? How did your meeting go with the old cat," he asked, using Professor McGonagall's nickname whilst lowering the paper he had been reading as his friend entered the front room, the werewolf's eyes both tired and weary.

"Just like Harry expected it would go Sirius," Remus replied dryly, before dropping into the armchair next to him. "Minerva made it clear that it wasn't a personal decision on her part, but a political one. It turns out that she is under a lot of pressure from the school board at the moment and can't risk employing me after the recent articles about the safety issues at Hogwarts." It went unsaid why, since both of them knew how fearful the vast majority of wizards were concerning werewolves.

Silence fell over the living room, as both men considered the future. "Are you going to take Harry up on his job offer then?" he asked, hoping that Remus would swallow his pride and take the job that he was actually well qualified for. "You couldn't get a much better one than that. Harry's plans for the docks are going to flip magical Britain on its ear."

"I'd rather not Sirius," once again showing his remaining pride getting in the way of a good thing. "Besides, I feel like I wouldn't be very good at managing a building project the size of the Potter Docks," Remus replied. Sirius gave his friend a 'you are being stupid look' at that ridiculous response.

"If you're sure Remus... Harry _won't_ offer again you know. And he can't afford to wait on you coming to your senses," he voiced.

"How did your meeting go with Gringotts?" Remus asked, changing the subject of the conversation to Sirius' own morning activities.

His considered his words before answering, "Better than I expected, and yet _far_ more costly than I expected, due to the privacy requirements of the job. They'll have a price estimate by the end of the week. If it all goes well, by the end of the month their curse breakers can take a crack at breaking whatever magical protections are around that damn cavern." He answered, as he thought about Regulus and the horrible fact that his younger brother's remains were unburied, his animated corpse likely inside an unknown seaside cave corrupted by dark magic cast by You-Know-Who to act as a guard. A shiver ran down his spine at the imagery this brought up.

"Are you going to inform Albus of this?" Remus asked in a careful tone as his head snapped to face his friend.

"Why would I inform the Chief Warlock of_ my_ doings? This is a private family affair to recover my _brother's_ remains," he countered, as he remembered the magical locket safely locked away in his family's vault.

"Sirius, there could be dozens if not hundreds of missing people's bodies there, not just Regulus'. This is a chance to possibly provide some families with answers to what happened to their missing loved ones and solve some cold cases by the aurors." Remus argued, the werewolf's words causing his anger to flare at the mention of the Chief Warlock. "The cursebreakers will destroy the inferi on sight! You know they'll just destroy the bodies so that they can get their payment quicker!"

He was just about to rant about Dumbledore, but he stopped himself as he came up with a better plan, a plan more fitting for the Lord Black. "This is not a matter that requires the involvement of the _Wizengamot_. It does not challenge the preexisting laws and the courts, or taxes and legislation, or the running of the state, nor does it risk the Statute of Secrecy Remus. Therefore, this is not a matter that falls under the Chief Warlock's limited _authority._ This is actually a matter for the Aurors, therefore this matter requires the involvement of Madam Bones and the Ministry of Magic, not the Chief Warlock." He countered in a reasonable tone, he did somewhat _agree_ with Remus that they should use this chance to solve some open cases from the war.

After all, he had been one of the aurors investigating many of those disappearances, so it might solve some of his old cases. That said, he wasn't about to let the Chief Warlock take credit for the massive find to boost his weakened political image. That gave him an idea. He'd have to discuss it with Harry and see what this cunning godson and heir would make of it, and between the two of them they could certainly flesh out the idea for maximum impact.

"I'll talk with Madam Bones about it Remus, but only after the trial is done, so it won't be mixed up in politics and other back handed deals," he remarked, giving a peace offering to his old friend. "If she believes the Chief Warlock should be informed, then I'll defer to her judgement, but not before. Ok?"

"Ok," Remus agreed, accepting the offered compromise.

Whilst such a big, public find of missing wizards/witches from the war would certainty help win and persuade some of the more undecided votes against Lord Malfoy, he didn't feel it was necessary yet to reveal the seaside cavern at this time. If the trial started to stall, or to go against him and Harry, then he would let slip the knowledge of the mass grave, turned inferi horde, to renew any diminished anger concerning the last war. It would also galvanize public support to see justice done and the perpetrator made to pay, but he doubted that would be needed given all the public support they had so far.

Plus, he didn't really want to reveal the cavern to the public just yet, since it only guarded a single locket. It would raise a number of uncomfortable questions about what made this _locket _so important to Voldemort that it required a virtual _army_ of inferi to guard it? Why guard it at all? What made it so important that his brother was willing to die to retrieve it? And did he want really want these questions being asked by the public if Voldemort's cavern was revealed?

"What are you thinking about Sirius?" Remus asked from his chair.

"Just the trial," he lied. "Hopefully everything will go as planned on Wednesday."

**o_ooo000ooo_o**

"So, the final exam curriculum that I sent you the other day, is it proving useful?" Harry enquired over the enchanted mirror, whilst stroking Shadow on his lap, the cat too watching her through the mirror.

"Of course it is!" she answered back with a big smile.

"Good," Harry replied with a satisfied smile.

She gave her younger cousin a curious look, "How did you even get a hold of the marking criteria anyways?" Tonks asked.

"Remus," Harry answered honestly. "The headmaster gave him all the marking and assessment criteria for DADA so that he could start preparing his lessons for next year. I may have surreptitiously made myself a copy."

"So Remus doesn't know?" she questioned, knowing that her Harry had a strong dislike for the werewolf.

"No, he doesn't," Harry confirmed, before changing the subject. "What's Hogwarts like with McGonagall in charge?"

**Midnight Gold**

**Ministry of Magic**

She critically looked over her Aurors who were standing proudly at attention before her. They were arranged in two lines of four, their backs straight and rigid, their uniforms impeccably pressed as she walked down the line inspecting her troops, before she stopped in front of them, clasping her hands behind her back. She took a moment of silence to mentally review her speech.

"Many of you are wondering why you are here today, why I have had you swear oaths of secrecy," she began, her prepared speech flowing off her tongue, her one good eye sweeping over them. "You have been personally selected, by me, for your integrity, in order to form an elite unit within the Aurors," she revealed, her words already having an effect as the men and women under her command stood straighter, prouder at her praise.

"'What does this unit do?' I would imagine you're asking yourself at this moment. 'Will I still be hunting dark wizards?' In a sense, you will be, but your targets will hide behind false smiles and high priced lawyers. This unit is being formed to be the new anti-corruption unit within the DMLE, charged with investigating internal affairs within the walls of the Ministry and the Wizengamot, to hunt down and reveal the _corrupt _within these walls, to bring justice to the ones who hide behind their social ranks and positions of power," she told the group, who were disciplined enough to hold their questions in check.

Looking over the group again, she intentionally made eye contact with each of them. "In the last couple of weeks it has been realized that there are many men and women like Lucius Malfoy within these walls," she said, as she gestured with her hand to the walls. "Even within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, even within the Aurors themselves." A handful of Aurors cursed under their breath once they realized where this was going. "In the last couple of weeks it has been confirmed that there have been informers in this elite department of law enforcement, those who have been selling themselves and their services for gold, like common street whores, selling out investigations, destroying and sabotaging evidence, and selling out their brothers and sisters to the highest bidder," she explained, 'and to the papers' she mentally added.

"You will be tasked with purging this corruption from within the ranks, this cancer that has infested this unit, this department, the Ministry, and finally, the Wizengamot. You will be the fire than burns away the filth, that restores the creditability of the Aurors, that restores our tainted honour."

"This will be hard, stressful, time consuming work, where even your friends may come under suspicion, but it is an essential task, one that needs to be done so that we can trust our colleagues again, to know that we won't be stabbed in the back when our guard is down, when our attention diverted, to know that we won't be betrayed by our own when gold is offered up." She paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in for proper effect. She recalled her illuminating interview with Professor Snape, the one who had revealed the truth about Lord Voldemort to her and the cursed objects known as horcruxes. She valiantly suppressed the urge to shudder at the thought of Lord Voldemort's potential return, or the renewal of the mayhem, bloodshed and chaos of the last war. It was only a last minute miracle that saved them the last time after all. If it came down to fighting in the streets once again, in most ways they were even worse off than before.

"During the war against _Lord Voldemort,_ a decade and a half ago, this department was ineffective to say the least. Lord Voldemort's agents and allies had hopelessly infiltrated _this_ department and every other department of the Ministry, to the point where Lord Voldemort knew our plans before even we knew of them, and even knew of our investigations. This was why we never could catch him, why we could never win, why so many high level Death Eaters like Lord Malfoy went free, whilst so many of our brothers and sisters died in ambushes, or even in their homes and beds with their families screaming around them," she spoke with tears in her eyes, as she remembered those awfully dark years of constant death and betrayal lingering in the air.

"The code name for this clean-up operation is _Cerberus_, you will report directly, and only, to me, on this matter," she stated in a firm tone. "If I hear anyone gossiping about this to their friends I promise you that you will find yourselves without a job and swiftly become an inmate of Azkaban." She explained in a cold, ruthless tone, giving them a harsh look with her one good eye. "If anyone, and I mean _anyone_, Fudge, Dumbledore, even Merlin himself, asks you what you are investigating, you will answer that you are investigating the smuggling of illegal creatures and ingredients. Nothing less, nothing more. Do you understand?"

"Yes Madam Bones," the eight Aurors answered together.

"Good," she offered with a sharp nod. "You'll be split into two squads, and will be assigned to investigate one of the two senior Aurors who _I_ believe were on the payroll of Lord Malfoy and have links to the pureblood supremacy group known as the Death Eaters."

**End of Chapter**

**Author Note:** Chapter 16 has also been reworked and reposted =) if anyone wants to read it.


	44. Y2 The Fall of Lord Malfoy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, those belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**Rated: M**

"Spoken dialog."

'Thoughts' / internal thinking

**Author's Note**: Thank you for all the feedback my faithful readers. I am acting on it, never fear. Furthermore, chapter 43 has been reposted due to some problems with the publishing for some reason. Sorry about the long update time, I've been very busy, plus this chapter was a pain to write. However, I made it extra long by adding in first half of chapter 45

Btw, I don't mind epic length.

**Midnight Gold, the Rise of the Forgotten Lord**

**Chapter 44: The Fall of Lord Malfoy**

**Posted 02th June 2013**

**Revised and ****Beta'd by 'Joe Lawyer'**

Mr. Cullen Eddings smiled at her, the old lawyer's hand moving slowly to her thigh; she smiled back to the lawyer who was sitting next to her on the sofa with her best seductive smile. "You never said who you work for Miss Titley?" he asked her. She responded with a playful smile, as she mightily resisted the urge to vomit both due to the taste of polyjuice potion on her tongue and for what she was currently doing.

"Someone Lord Malfoy insulted and betrayed; someone who has waited a very long time to finally have a chance at repaying his former friend," she answered, before reaching for the wine glass sitting on a nearby crystal table. "My employer simply wishes for Lord Malfoy to be brought to justice, and not dodge it as he's been so successful at doing in the past," she further explained, before taking a sip of the red wine, her red lipstick marking the delicate clear glass. "He is willing to offer you a considerable sum of gold and the promise of a great deal of future work for your help in this sensitive matter."

"I'm afraid I can't do that; my oaths as a lawyer prevent that," Cullen replied, in a professional tone, his hand moving slightly more up her leg.

She smiled back, her lord had already planned for this. "Of course. He suspected as much," she replied. "But my employer merely asks for you to work around the parameters of your employment oath, which certainty has several loopholes in it that could be exploited. All my employer wants is for you to not give your best effort at the trial tomorrow, and to subtly undermine it where possible. Of course put on a good show, but make simple mistakes that none would question overmuch." Her hand slipped into her handbag, before placing a heavy money sack on the leather couch, the sounds of gold galleons pleasantly clinking together. "Just a small down payment in advance, you'll get three times that amount if you help ensure that your current client's case fails; you'll even get a bonus." She smiled in a mischievous way, a naughty, suggestive way, before leaning forward slightly to give the old wizard in front of her a better look at her magnificent breasts, absently wondering if the action might give the old man a heart attack. The white haired lawyer took the bait and looked down her revealing top with a smile. She knew where the man's mind was now drifting, as she gently and suggestively stroked the man leg's to fuel his thoughts of having her. She resisted the urge to shiver in disgust, but her magic forced her on.

"I see," the lawyer said, before taking hold of the money bag, feeling the weight of it, as she moved his hand beneath the rim of her silver cocktail dress, allowing him to feel her silk garter belt.

"Do you like what you feel?" Rita purred, showing no sign of her own internal discomfort.

"Oh yes," the elderly lawyer cried in excitement, clearly forgetting about the money bag in favour of feeling her up, his other newly freed hand cupping the side of her breast as she felt his erection through his trousers, the urge to vomit at his touch nearly overwhelming.

"Good," she purred, as she gave a playful squeeze through the fabric of his pants.

"Can I get a sample of my bonus now?" Eddings asked, with a lecherous old grin.

Standing up and turning to face the lawyer, her naughty smile firmly back in place, her chained magic suppressing the side of her that was screaming 'hell no' and that wanted to stop immediately, her thoughts of Malcolm disappearing from her mind as if they never existed, even as her hands went to the magical zipper at the back of her dress. She slowly teased the zipper down.

"You can get a small taste now," she answered, as the cocktail dress fell to her heels, revealing her borrowed naked body and her shaven womanhood since she had forgone underwear for this special meeting. Edding's jaw dropped to the floor, her tight polyjuiced body stunning the old wizard, her perfect breasts hanging free, but firm and perky, thanks to the young body. Her long, sinful legs were enhanced by her matching black stockings and garter belt set and three inch black heels, as she turned around on the spot to show him her tight bottom.

Moving forward slowly and sensually, while putting an extra seductive swing in her step, her chained magic suppressed any hesitation she had as she mounted the old clothed wizard's lap, whose greedy hands immediately cupped her breasts. Even as she pressed her lips against his own, she felt the man's fabric covered erection pressing against her naked womanhood. Breaking the heated kiss, she looked into his lustful eyes whilst her mind was clear and unclouded despite the fact the man's hands were exploring her body, which would, under normal circumstances, excite her. "This is but a taster, do you want more?" she teased.

"_Yes!_" he answered instantly, in a near desperate tone. She smiled coyly, before kissing the old wizard's neckline, a plan forming in her mind driven by her chained magic, her hand drifting down and into his trousers, like a seeker chasing down a snitch as her hand found its way to the lawyer's manhood.

It wasn't the biggest she had ever had she thought, as she gave him her best naughty smile. "Good," she purred, giving him a playful stroke as the old lawyer moaned, almost panting now.

**o_ooo000ooo_o**

Her bedroom mirror rippled like water as the enchantment upon the mirror activated, revealing her young master.

She looked at her lord and master with mixed feelings, a small part of her wanting to scream and throw the darkest curses at him for enslaving her only to feel a spike of piercing pain at the back of her head, her own chained magic punishing her for such disloyal thoughts, but another part of her just whispered for her to submit, to give in to him, to obey happily. She smiled warmly, the pain fading away as she thought only good thoughts about her master, like how generous he was to her when he didn't really have to be. Her own magic rewarded her with a warm, content feeling for the 'good,' obedient thoughts she was having. Her anger was swept away by the powerful feeling, causing her to smile warmly at her master's image. She could hardly condemn her master any longer for his entrapment of her, since she had done the same with Cullen and others throughout her career, albeit more crudely with the use of sex.

"Rita, how did the meeting go with Mr. Eddings? Were you successful?" he asked. She debated what to share.

"Yes, my _master_, everything is set, Cullen is with us now. I have a complete copy of his planned defence for tomorrow's trial," she answered, her voice far more submissive than usual, as she realized she had addressed the young man as 'master.'

Her slip, unfortunately, wasn't missed. "_Master_? Now that is new," he answered with a smirk, clearly amused at her choice of title. "_Master_," he repeated once again, the word almost silky as he tested the way it flowed off his tongue. His voice causing her to shiver in pleasure unconsciously. "I rather like the sound of that," he offered as he turned his attention back to her. "You can call me master if you really wish to Rita, only when we are alone though, we can't have you calling me that in public now can we?" Her cheeks reddened, as she cursed her slip.

"So what happened? How did you persuade him to play ball?" he pushed, showing why he was in Ravenclaw house for once rather than Slytherin, as he waited for her answer.

She decided to keep her replies short, but truthful, since her magical orders prevented her from lying to her lord, but deciding to retaliate by making her Lord blush red with her answer. "I manipulated him, rather easily I might add," he nodded in response. "You'd be surprised how easy a man is to manipulate when you have his _cock_ in your hand, and his own wife hasn't played with it for years," she explained, her lord's cheeks turning slightly red at her extended explanation.

"I'll take your word for it," he replied calmly, before falling silent in thought.

Wondering if she could make him blush more, she was just about to add some more saucy details to what happened on her mission, when he spoke up again. "Did you have sex with him?" The preteen asked suddenly, his tone curious, but at the same time reluctant, as she wondered if he had been given the talk yet.

"No, I just gave him a hand job, and a very good lap dance, if I say so myself," she replied with a grin, suddenly feeling randy and dirty at the memory of what she had done, before adding without thinking, just as he took a sip of fruit juice. "Would you like one _master_?" Unintentionally using the M word again.

Her well timed question had exactly the outcome she desired, causing him to both spit and choke on his juice, some of the orange liquid flying at his mirror. She allowed herself to smirk, but was also suddenly afraid he'd take her up on it someday. He vanished the choked up juice with an elegant flick of his wand.

He looked at her seriously, clearly wrestling with an internal question which suddenly put her on edge. "I might take you up on your generous offer Rita if you keep asking," he replied. She nodded, understanding the hidden message. "Send a copy anonymously to Madam Bones; the ministry assigned lawyers could use an advantage."

"I don't think that will be necessary my lord," she replied. He merely looked at her in confusion, clearly not expecting such a reply.

"Why isn't it necessary Rita?" he asked.

Realizing she now had no choice but to tell the truth, she elaborated, "I tricked him into making a magical vow; he has no choice now but to lose the case tomorrow or he loses his magic," she explained, wondering what her lord would say to her.

"I see. Tell me everything," he commanded seriously. She quickly recounted everything that had happened at the meeting hours earlier, his order forcing her to share every detail of her adventure. "Is there any chance that he can identify you? Or backtrack you to me?"

"No, I was using polyjuice and a fake name, just like you ordered me to," she answered. "The hair I used was from a random muggle I came across. I secured quite a bit in case I ever needed to make use of that form again."

"Did he realize he made an oath?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so," she replied.

"Let's hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the ass," he voiced, clearly not happy with what she had done.

**Midnight Gold**

'Confidence, a Lord is _confident_,' Harry recited to himself in the back of his mind, even as he stepped in time with his godfather Sirius. His gait was confident and purposeful, possessing an elegant feline grace that would be expected of the Lord of an Ancient and Noble household as notable as his own.

He and Sirius were accompanied by a security wizard as the small party of four moved through the imposing halls, whose architecture reminded him of imperial Rome. Everything here within the walls of ministry was purposely styled to be imposing and intimidating, most likely to suggest to the populace that the Ministry of Magic was bigger and more important than any single individual, he silently theorized. He knew such themes were common in all government structures that had to convey a sense of intrinsic authority. But the truth was, like most governments, the ministry only served and had power through the collective consent of the people. If the common wizard or witch ever decided the Ministry wasn't needed any longer, or didn't have authority to govern them, the Ministry's power would be non-existent.

He wouldn't be intimidated or scared by this tactic. Despite being only twelve years of age, he had already achieved feats of magic that many older, more accomplished wizards had failed at. He had already survived several attempts on his short life, had freed his falsely imprisoned godfather, and unknown to them all, he had found the entrance to the legendry Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts, a place which most wizards and witches had dismissed as simply a fairy tale, a legend of the past. Furthermore, his ancient bloodline had helped create the original Wizengamot; his forbears had then helped to create the Ministry itself he told himself. Again, despite his age, he belonged in these ancient halls, as his ancestors had helped build them. And if he had his way his family and bloodline would still be walking these same hallways in the many centuries to come. As he had these thoughts, Sirius and their ministry appointed security escorts passed by another group of ministry officials talking in the middle of the corridor.

Both he and Sirius were wearing their traditional ceremonial robes that marked them as members of the Wizengamot, as the pair of them and their smartly dressed security escorts made their way into the heart of the Ministry of Magic, where the Wizengamot chamber was located behind a wall of security wards. Fortunately for the pair, they were quickly waved through the internal security checkpoint without any hassle by ministry security personnel, a group which was out in force today due to Lord Malfoy's highly publicized trial being opened to the public.

Lord Malfoy's trial would be beginning within the next hour and a half, give or take a few minutes for inevitable delays, _assuming_ that everything stayed relatively on schedule. They had decided to get here early so that they could rub shoulders with the other Lords and Ladies and officials in a last minute charm campaign. He and Sirius were currently being escorted through the highly decorated and propaganda filled corridors of the ministry by a pair of MS officers, (Ministry Security) who had been charged with providing security for him for the duration of the court case, due to the lingering threat of another assassination attempt being made upon his life.

Despite how unlikely such an attempt would be, he didn't argue with Madam Bones on the issue when the head of law enforcement had insisted on the pair of them having a protective escort whilst within the Ministry, making the argument that with the ministry open to the general public for the trial that anything was possible. Predictably, the Minister had readily agreed to the idea too, rather than take the risk of yet another sandal unfolding within the heart of the Ministry if he was attacked and killed. His successful murder in the ministry would likely be the final nail in the Minister's political coffin.

Privately, he and Sirius suspected the security detail assigned to them was more likely meant to act as a buffer between the gathered reporters and the watching public, so that he wouldn't be mobbed by overzealous supporters and well-wishers. Normally, the Wizengamot Chambers and the law courts would be closed to the general public, but today they would be opened wide for the first time since the war against Voldemort had ended; the common wizard and witch would thus be able to watch the highly anticipated court case for themselves.

Frankly, he, Sirius, Ted, and Andy suspected that the Minister was using this whole open court case as a means to bolster his own damaged popularity with the public, so that he could publicly denounce Lord Malfoy in front of a large public audience, thus everyone could then publicly see the Ministry and the Minister dispensing righteous justice to the dark wizard. After all, Fudge had publically announced that he would 'ensure' that justice was done after the massive public backlash against the skittish minister for his association with the dark pureblood lord, whom everyone now suspected was a willing death eater, and actually might have been Lord Voldemort's second in command if the rumours were true… After all, the Malfoy family had profited greatly from the war, both in the realm of political power as well as in the world of business, with several of their ancestral competitors suddenly meeting unfortunate ends or key assets being destroyed under the cover of terrorism. All of which implied that they had been killed off on Lord Malfoy's orders, and not simply for the cause of pureblood supremacy, but because it was imminently profitable for the man's family. He personally believed that to be true. The ancestral Potter docks had been destroyed by death eaters during the war and many of those same men had profited greatly because of it in the ensuing years.

Along the way to the Wizengamot chamber they ran into several groups of people, most of whom Harry didn't personally know nor recognise, but Sirius did, since the dog animagus had spent a considerable amount of time courting his new peers and re-establishing old contacts since gaining his freedom. He had redoubled his efforts in the recent weeks in preparation for this day. Naturally, several business deals had also been made, to help establish some real ties and links with his newfound 'friends,' deals such as these would ensure those relationships couldn't be set aside so easily. Predictably, many had easily recognised Harry thanks to Rita's extensive public relations campaign which put him at a disadvantage during these short exchanges. Nevertheless he smiled back politely, despite hating the idea of being at a disadvantage of any kind, even as he gave them his best fake smiles and friendly handshakes whilst wondering how long it would be before he had to kiss a baby or something stupid in the name of charming some more support. Fortunately, it was easy to do despite his ill feelings about it, often answering light hearted questions about himself and his interests, with a few very discreet questions targeted at his beliefs spoken in the old fashioned double talk favoured by politicians the world over.

Thankfully, he was spared from further questioning by the unexpected appearance of the smiling Chief Warlock, who was wearing a grand set of highly decorative robes that put his normal choice of extravagant robes he wore around Hogwarts to shame. The white and gold colour star patterned robes glittered under the light, the stars shooting across the robes at various angles, the many decorative runes on the cloth seeming to glow with mystical energies, which suggested that there were some rather powerful enchantments on the robes. What they were meant to do, he had no idea at this point. The former headmaster's eyes seemed to sparkle as always.

"Good morning, Lord Black," the old wizard greeted Sirius, before turning his attention to me with a friendly smile on his wrinkled lips. "Good morning Mr. Potter. Or perhaps I should be calling you _Lord Potter-Peverell _now?"

'It took you long enough,' he thought, whilst offering his own amused smile. "Lord Potter-Peverell if you please, as this is an official meeting of the _Wizengamot_ and we must follow proper procedure and tradition Chief Warlock," he replied easily, showing no discomfort at the fact that the old wizard had finally put all the little clues together. He hadn't exactly been hiding it with great effort. After all, by the end of the trial the fact that he was a dual lord already would become common knowledge. The former headmaster of Hogwarts smiled, seemingly indulgently at my answer.

"Of course," the Chief Warlock humoured me with a smile. "Let me be the first to officially welcome you to the Wizengamot. Hopefully your first time here won't be too dull, listening to teams of lawyers arguing over the word of law." I politely nodded in thanks, noticing out of the corner of my left eye a small audience was discreetly listening to our unfolding exchange.

"Now onto a more serious matter; there has been a _minor_ problem with my reinstatement as Hogwarts' Headmaster, and I believe you may be able to help me solve this problem, Mr. Potter," subtly using the less formal address, either in an attempt to make him seem less important to those subtly listening to the exchange, or in an attempt to imply some type of familiarity between the pair of them. It could also be an attempt to underplay the problem the headmaster was having in regaining his old position, or the old wizard could have simply fallen unconsciously back on the habit of addressing him as he would any other student, rather than a dual Lord of the Wizengamot. Since there was no way to know without a great deal more experience with and a much better read on the man, he decided to let the slip of tongue go without comment, for the moment, rather than calling the Chief Warlock out. He was forced to speculate, however, on what possible problem the Chief Warlock could be having.

Then, like a light bulb turning on, it clicked, and he realized what the former headmaster wanted from him. He decided to play dumb and naive for a few more moments to help hide his intellect, which would hopefully cause the headmaster to underestimate him for a little while longer. "You _flatter_ me Chief Warlock, but I don't see how my minor influence could be of any assistance to someone like _you_," he replied in a humble tone, whilst thinking, 'Just try to manipulate me you old bastard, it will cost you dearly,' even as he mentally listed the man's many crimes against him and his family.

The old wizard fell back on old patterns and gave his standard grandfatherly smile in response, one that would normally disarm other people, but one which had always inversely put him more on guard when dealing with his former magical guardian. He continued to avoid eye contact, just in case. "You see, thanks to several recent articles about you and several interviews you gave to the Daily Prophet, many parents mistakenly believe that Hogwarts is no longer safe for their children," the old headmaster explained slowly, like he was talking to an idiotic child.

He fake smiled back, "Indeed, there were many gaps and weaknesses in the vaunted Hogwarts wards that led to some serious security failures, I believe parents have right to be concern about their offspring safety" he replied. He felt the need to add to this statement and give a few reminders to his listening audience as to exactly what those failures were and under whose watch they happened under. "First, there was the 12 foot tall adult mountain troll that somehow found its way past Hogwarts' supposedly powerful protective wards and by some _still_ unknown means found its way into the castle itself and the girl's bathroom, almost killing two young female students using the bathroom. Then there was the bewitching of Neville Longbottom's quidditch broom during a match attended by you and the entire faculty and staff; he nearly fell to his death in front of the whole school. Then there was the hungry, fully grown adult Cerberus locked behind a simple door, a door secured only by a basic first year locking charm on it; that beast could have easily killed any student that had been curious enough to open that door with a simple alohomora charm."

"That area was declared off limits at the start of the year," the Headmaster began to explain.

Cutting in before the old wizard could build up some steam and somehow convince their listeners with his honeyed words, he continued. "True, it was," he nodded in agreement whilst considering his next words carefully. "But as you should well know after so many, many years as headmaster, students are always inquisitive, nosy and often reckless. If you had said nothing, however, no students would have even looked behind that unremarkable door in the first place, especially if you had put up a simple repelling ward, a more complex locking charm, an age line, or even a _notice-me-not _enchantment upon it, instead students were daring each other to peek in and confront the beast," he argued in a serious tone.

"I'm sure any parent would tell you if you tell a child not to do something, they will do it anyways, just because you said not to, thinking that they know better or convinced of their invulnerability," he heard muttering in agreement behind him. "Also the point stands, why was a four X rated magical beast locked up within the school anyways? Where any young student could find it?" Of course, he knew the answer already, but the headmaster didn't know that and neither did their listeners.

Seeing there was no immediate answer on the headmaster's tongue for once, he moved on, pressing his advantage. "Not to mention a group of first years wandering around the forbidden forest in the middle of the night serving detention, when there was dark creature about capable of slaughtering a creature as fast and powerful in magic as unicorns for their life-blood," he added as his audience gasped in shock. "Was it normal Chief Warlock, under your tenure as headmaster, for students to serve detentions in the Forbidden Forest, in the middle of the night, when something capable and willing to kill unicorns was in the area? I heard from the groundskeeper, Hagrid, that if it weren't for the timely intervention of the centaurs that call the forest their home that Neville Longbottom, our beloved Boy-Who-Lived, would have been attacked, and in all likelihood killed whilst serving detention that night, along with the two other first year students accompanying him. It seems to me former Headmaster Dumbledore that you were awfully _lucky_ that night," his words had the desired effect of making the headmaster pale a tad and subtly look around at the increase in the volume of muttering in their audience.

"That was a simple mistake, the detentions were misallocated," the former headmaster of Hogwarts stated clearly.

Pushing his advantage after such pathetically weak excuse, he kept on the attack. "It may have been another simple, honest mistake on _your_ part, but children could have died because of it," he pressed forward, knowing that the now silent audience behind him was a very good sign that his point was getting across and the legend of Dumbledore's power and infallibility was slowly being chipped away at. It was also being made clear to these powerful and influential individuals that he was his own man and not another Dumbledore sycophant. "How do you think their parents would have felt if those students had been murdered that night due to a _simple _administrative mistake? Would that have given them comfort? Lessened their despair? When you were headmaster of Hogwarts you were ultimately responsible for the safety of all the children placed under your care, parents place their absolute trust in the headmaster/mistress to protect their children while at school. Therefore that mistake and all the others that could have cost them their lives while under your care, lies at your feet, and yours alone."

Collecting his thoughts for a pregnant pause, he launched his next verbal assault, "Let's also not forget why we are here today. There were three nearly successful attempts on my life this past year at Hogwarts, along with several attempts on Neville Longbottom's life. Before you make the excuse that the reason why these numerous attempts were so successful was due to a school governor being involved, remember the attacks resulting from the chamber of secrets and the attacks on me were also driven by Lord Malfoy's desire to have you _removed_. Arguably, our attempted murders were all just a means to ultimately hurt you," stabbing his finger in the former headmaster's direction. "An auror assigned to be my body double was murdered at a meal in the Great Hall due to the many security failures around the school, security that was undermined even further by your allowing unscreened individuals within Hogwarts' walls. Goblets and dining utensils that should have been enchanted to detect poisons weren't, allowing a good wizard to be needlessly poisoned for real. He left behind a wife and two young children by the way. How many children could have been accidently poisoned if they had drunk from that poisoned chalice?" he repeated an argument made many times in the Daily Prophet recently for the growing audience, playing on their fear.

"In light of all the facts I just reminded you of, I believe my original statement concerning how unsafe Hogwarts is is rather accurate, I hardly consider parents misguided or alarmist for wanting their children to be safe when out of their care. They expect much, because they risk so much. Is it wrong to expect that assurance of safety from the head of Hogwarts? After all, we don't all have the same magical prowess or skill as you do with the wand Chief Warlock," he offered in a flattering tone, his words causing the soft muttering of agreement from his audience, as the former disgraced headmaster realized he could not challenge the explanation without undermining the idea of his own prowess and skill, or without insulting the parents within the audience by implying that they were stupid and overreacting, which would surely cause even more headaches down the line.

But, stupid was a relative word really, compared to the headmaster's own intelligence and knowledge most people could be considered 'stupid,' even Harry could be considered stupid when measured against the headmaster. Yes, he was smart compared to his year mates, but compared to the Chief Warlock who had had over a century to gain magical knowledge, he was rather dumb. "Let's not mention the thousands of carriage sized man eating spiders' groundskeeper Hagrid keeps as seeming pets in the forbidden forest," he added seemingly as an afterthought, rather enjoying this exchange before turning to Sirius. "Godfather, as a former Auror, do you believe my assessment is incorrect or overstating things?" With this question he innocently pulled Sirius into the public discussion, at the same time reminding their audience of Sirius' expertise and qualifications to give an informed opinion that should be listened to. He noticed Rita hidden amongst the crowd, her deadly quick quotes quill and notepad already in her hand.

'That woman must have a sixth sense for a story,' he noted to himself with an internal smile, whilst waiting for Sirius' response.

"I have to agree with my _godson _on this matter Chief Warlock," Sirius thoughtfully agreed after seeming to consider the question carefully for a few silent moments, publically giving voice to the crowd's own thoughts and thus validating them, making them seem far more than merely a personal opinion. "Not even during my own troubled time at Hogwarts, with the persistent threat of You-Know-Who hanging over all of us like a dark shadow, did we have so many serious security failures around the school in such a short period of time." Sirius' words caused the Headmaster's eyes to widen just for a second, for some unknown reason, before the old wizard's mask was firmly back in place once again. He suspected that the veteran political operators in the audience saw that brief lapse as well as he did. "Then there are the failing standards of teaching in such fundamental and vital areas as self-defence, potions, divination, and history of magic that have gone on in the last two decades under your leadership. This is a worrying and dangerous state of affairs for the future of British magical society. Were you aware that a little less than half of all fifth year students fail their OWLs in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions. And that this failure is the cause of an incredibly dangerous skilled labour shortage in the auror corp, the ranks of healers, and the potions brewing sector? Need I remind you that a Potions OWL is required for numerous vital jobs in our world, like that of a healer or an Auror. This is in turn weakening Britain as a whole due to this skill shortage. In my business discussions with several Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot with interests in the potions sector, for example, they simply _can't_ find qualified people to hire and replace those employees that retire, much less hope for _any_ kind of expansion. In fact even after 12 years since the end of the war with You-Know-Who we have not recovered the numbers of healers and aurors we had before the start of the war. As a country we may even be forced to hire aurors, healers, and potions masters from foreign countries simply because our schools are seemingly incapable of producing any of our own!"

The former headmaster was about to respond to these damaging remarks, when another rich and elegant voice he recognised as Lord Greengrass butted into the unfolding public drama. "I also have to agree with Lord Black and the young Lord Potter-Peverell on this matter Chief Warlock, since he is a first-hand witness," Nicholas solemnly agreed, his beautiful ice queen of a wife standing next to him on her husband's arm. 'I wonder if Daphne will look as beautiful as her mother at that age' he pondered for a few moments before Lord Greengrass spoke up again, as he mentally slapped himself for allowing his concentration to falter. "There have been several disturbing failures of security around Hogwarts of late, and the plummeting standard of education is also quite worrying to me, especially when Hogwarts is supposed to be the best magical school in all of Europe. I am starting to realize that perhaps that was true, _long ago_, and we have all been deluding ourselves for years out of some misplaced sense of nationalism instead of ensuring that that remained true _in reality_ year after year. I want the very best magical education possible for my two daughters, and I am truly starting to question Hogwarts' ability to do so."

'Best school in Europe? I seriously doubt that,' he mentally muttered, believing that statement was in fact some national delusion and unrealistic pride in the ancient school. If Hogwarts really was the best, the schools in the rest of Europe must be so poor that they somehow made Hogwarts look good in comparison, he pondered to himself.

"I have also heard from my daughter that there is a disturbing amount of criminal activity taking place within the school's walls, students brewing polyjuice potion to impersonate other students? Personal items being stolen by bullies and thieves? Pranks gone so far as to rightfully be considered assault?" Lady Greengrass added, supporting her husband, and also confirming to him that everything he shared with Daphne eventually found its way back to her mother and father. Even if seemingly obvious and likely, it was good to have that belief confirmed he supposed. "You are aware, Chief Warlock, that brewing polyjuice potion is a criminal offence with a sentence in Azkaban?" Putting the Chief Warlock on the spot to answer, the aged wizard suddenly realized just how outnumbered he was, with no allies in sight, and just how much the audience was turning against him. The bigger problem was that from a certain point of view, everything being said was true and could be verified with minimal effort.

"The matter was dealt with, the students involved weren't aware that it was a criminal offense," he replied in a grandfatherly tone, downplaying the event as best he could and relegating it to a mistake of youth.

'That's a lie,' he mentally acknowledged, knowing first hand that in the textbook they had used to brew the potion there was a clear disclaimer about the potion's illegality in Britain, and the warning of a jail sentence for misuse. Unfortunately, before he could call the former headmaster on his lie, Lady Greengrass spoke again, robbing him of the chance to score another point against the old wizard, as well as to catch him publically in a lie.

"Was this marked down upon their school records?" Lady Greengrass pushed.

"I didn't see the need to, it was simply intended as a childish prank," the old wizard answered. "Now, if you would excuse me, I'm needed to oversee the final preparations for the trial," he said in dismissal, before virtually bolting down the corridor as fast his bony old legs could carry him without it actually looking like he was fleeing. Harry's enhanced eyes did notice, however, a beetle clinging on to the man's robes. 'What's she up to now?' he wondered, knowing he would be talking to Rita this evening about what she had heard before turning his attention to meet and greet Daphne's parents, Lord and Lady Greengrass.

"Now that was satisfying," Sirius proudly proclaimed with a roguish smirk whilst their thoughtful audience left to go back to their various tasks. "Nice timing there Nicholas, Cynthia, never seen the old goat move so fast."

"Indeed, it is a rare sight. I wasn't aware he could still move that fast," Nicholas agreed with a slight smile, before turning his attention to Harry. "Well played there Harry."

"Thank you Nicholas, I do try," he offered with a small smile, before giving a graceful bow. "Hopefully the rest of the day will go so well, if not better."

"I'm sure it will. Lord Malfoy has made far more enemies than he has allies over the years. I expect most will use this opportunity to retaliate for any number of past transgressions and slights Lord Malfoy doled out over the years, and his wife hasn't made too many friends either. More than a few ladies would like to see her fall from her lofty perch," Cynthia reasoned.

He nodded, knowing that there was constant state of rivalry behind old houses. "It certainly doesn't help that the Malfoy family vaults at Gringotts have also been sealed at the request of the Ministry, and are currently under investigation for tax evasion. Without access to the family vaults buying Lord Malfoy's innocence isn't really an option this time," he added, his smile turning more into a predatory smirk, whilst the trio nodded in agreement.

**Midnight Gold**

'Fucking half-blood, who does he think he is, acting like he is one of _us_,' Draco mentally snarled for what felt like the thousandth time since he had arrived earlier that morning for his father's trial. He couldn't help but stare hatefully across the Wizengamot courtroom at his _most_ hated nemesis dressed in a set of highly expensive traditional head of house robes, his grinning blood traitor of a cousin who had the nerve not to die in Azkaban like he should have next to him. That filthy half-blood bastard was even laughing lightly at something that blood traitor had said, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. 'I'll get you for this Potter,' he promised, knowing his fall from grace and his father's destroyed mind was all Potter's doing.

He wanted nothing more than to reach for his unicorn tail hair wand and send a killing curse at Potter's smug face, his anger and hate boiling so strongly in his veins that, despite not knowing the inner workings of the murderous spell, he was certain he would be able to cast it successfully! He just wanted Potter dead, as he watched the fucking half-blood pretender that had stolen his rightful position as the Black family heir rise from his seat to meet the Minister of Magic, his anger and hatred for the Ravenclaw that had ruined his life intensifying to even new heights as he watched the pair.

'Uncle Cornelius should be talking to _me_! Not that fucking half-blood thief,' he mentally raged whilst glaring at his enemy, the Minister of Magic laughing at something Potter shared, the two of them smiling and laughing like they were old friends.

"Draco, _stop_ staring," his Mother hissed dangerously from besides him, instantly grabbing his attention.

"Mother, they're talking about _us_," he hissed back, as he looked at his prim and proper mother who had her familiar blank mask in place, the same icy indifferent mask she used whenever outside the house or attending social functions.

"You don't _know _that, they could be talking about anything, and most likely nothing of importance, just polite small talk to be seen talking to each other," she argued back, her voice calm and level even as he stared back at his most hated enemy and the man his father had actively encouraged him to call Uncle Cornelius getting friendly together. "Draco, ignore it, don't make me take you back to Hogwarts," she warned in a much firmer tone, his normally doting mother for once showing a surprising amount of steel.

Not knowing whether his mother was being serious or not with her threat, he decided not to push his luck with his mother being in this unexpected and unfamiliar mood. Shifting his attention away from the unfolding scene involving his nemesis, he decided to focus on examining this ancient chamber turned makeshift courtroom.

He knew from his father's lectures before he lost his mind that the Wizengamot Chamber served several functions besides hosting Wizengamot sessions. The ancient circular room also doubled as a massive symbolic courtroom. But it only rarely served that purpose, usually only when one of its own esteemed Wizengamot members were on trial as the accused or the case was deemed high profile enough to warrant the use of the ancient chamber. The main reason why the chamber was used this way was because it allowed the common masses to watch the high profile trial for themselves from a large viewing galley above, allowing everyone a chance to see the Ministry and their social superiors dispensing justice at its finest. His thoughts turned back to his wrongly accused father. 'How is this fair?! My father can't even remember his name, how can he defend himself against these unfounded accusations, and why and how was this trial even happening when the main witness had bolted and still hadn't been found?'

Thinking about his mentally damaged father caused him to sneer at the magically shielded viewing platform high above; the very idea that he and his noble family were merely entertainment for the herd of second rate beings that called themselves wizards and witches was disgusting. He gave a defiant snort at the very idea. He was a _Malfoy_; his family didn't have to explain themselves to the common rabble! He was Malfoy, he was better than everyone else, pure and simple, he recited to himself.

Turning his attention away from the viewing galley that made him want to throw curses, his eyes rested on the small section of the courtroom reserved for reporters, which was even now slowly filling with the bloodsucking members of the press. These were the very same people that had been slandering his family's good name non-stop for the last three weeks. The last three weeks of his life had been a truly miserable ordeal, despite his godfather's best efforts to shield him from the worst of it, the whole school now openly targeting him. Pictures of his drooling father from the Daily Prophet would appear randomly on school walls to be laughed at. His own househad even openly turned against him, his childhood friends and his contracted, Pansy, abandoning him in favour of better prospects. He knew Longbottom and Weasleys were somehow behind the pictures, but it couldn't be proven, so he was openly mocked and hexed now, considered free game by all and protected by none but his godfather.

However, a good amount of his anger and hate was focused squarely on the blonde haired woman dressed like a muggle prostitute that he recognised as Rita Skeeter, the very woman most responsible for publicly tarnishing his good family's name and making his life a living hell through her poisonous and slanderous articles. He wanted to do nothing more than to march down from his family box and confront her about the accusations and horrible lies that she had spread about him and his family, but he knew he shouldn't make a scene in public, that it would make things even worse in the end.

Severus and his mother had made it very clear to him to avoid talking to any members of the press, because no matter how nice and friendly they appeared at first, they would gleefully twist and mangle his every word to be used against him to sell more papers. Magical Britain's most popular newspaper, the Daily Prophet, was already firmly against his father and his family. Severus had made it perfectly clear that that wouldn't change any time soon, no matter what they said or how much gold was offered to make them change their stance. The press had chosen their side and were giving voice to everyone's thoughts and long-held resentments, whilst at the same time feeding and stirring the pot of anger and outrage against his family, to the point that both he and his mother had received several cursed letters and howlers each day. He turned his attention away from the press box.

His father's extensive influence had, for many years, sheltered them from the worst the press could say and do, but those days were over, leaving them exposed and vulnerable to any slander and lies the press desired to print, despite the fact that they owned many shares of the newspaper. Unfortunately, they did not control a large enough block of votes to silence the parasites that now spread their horrible lies, a matter made even worse by the fact that the blood-traitor, Lord Black, also held a good percentage of the stock.

Next to the press box was a small area reserved for the record keepers charged with recording and documenting the trial for the Ministry's record office, with another smaller section to their right where the updating books of law were neatly stored on several old bookcases. The three ancient law readers were already there, waiting behind their desks, the three white haired wizards ready to reference any magical law or regulation or past ruling if needed by their superiors or lawyers throughout the trial.

Unfortunately and despite his best efforts, his eyes were once again drawn inexorably back to Potter, who was busy posing for a photo with the Minister, his jealously stirring once again. 'It should be me having my photo taken! Not Potter,' he mentally proclaimed, not noticing that his own photo had just been taken by a watching reporter. "I'll get you Potter, I swear it," he muttered hatefully beneath his breath, but not going so far as to swear it on his own magic, because that would be just plain stupid. He no longer cared about Longbottom and Weasley, _well_, he did care, but they were progressively moving down his list of enemies that he wanted to see dead and humiliated. He would get Potter back as soon as the four eyed Ravenclaw returned to Hogwarts, he told himself, taking joy in thinking of all the different ways he would humiliate Potter, knowing his godfather would also join in on the fun.

"Draco, don't say things like that," his mother warned, picking up on his quiet mutterings. "The public already believes this family is dark; don't confirm their suspicions by muttering such dark thoughts in _public_ where anyone could hear you."

"I don't care what they think, I'm a _Malfoy_," he said proudly, subconsciously puffing himself up to make himself seem bigger, more important, totally unaware that the gesture was positively laughable when done by a child. "Father always said not to care about what the foolish mob thinks, or says, that they're beneath _us_," he argued back, his voice getting progressively louder even as he gave a dismissive wave at the public viewing platform overhead.

"Draco, keep your voice down," his mother warned, before flicking her wand through the air to weave a privacy bubble around them to prevent anyone from hearing them, which meant a lecture was coming his way.

He braced himself for the inevitable lecture as she turned her attention back to him, her face surprisingly serious. "Let me make this clear Draco, what the mob thinks absolutely matters, because the mob easily outnumbers us. Our power and control continues through the creation of the Ministry, through the ministry we give them the perception that they actually have a say in this government, that they have a voice in running this country, which couldn't be further from the truth," she told. "Our ancestors in the Wizengamot created the modern Ministry to serve as a tool of their will, because it's easier to control people who believe that they have a say, a voice in government, than people who believe they don't have a voice. All this was achieved by paying the very low price of offering them a single vote. People who believe that they don't have a voice tend to revolt and rebel against their social superiors, and revolutions are an incredibly bloody business, often resulting in said social superiors being executed by the droves," she lectured, as he blinked in surprise.

"The Ministerial candidates are selected by us, the families in Wizengamot; we pick ambitious individuals of lesser families who understand their place and will serve our purposes. Then the masses vote on the candidates we choose for them, believing the Ministerial election is their doing, their will, but it's really we who control what the masses are told, what they believe they know about the candidates through our control of the Prophet," she lectured, before looking to the viewing gallery above. "Cornelius was selected by us to be a candidate for Minster because he was controllable, hence he serves our purposes, our desire to remain in control and in power, and he was well liked by the Mob above us due to his friendly face and everyman persona. If the Mob does not believe that the Minister is acting in their best interests, their will, the Minister is useless to us as a tool of control over them. If the Minister is useless to us, he is replaceable, otherwise the Mob may rebel against us because they believe they're being ignored, which could cost us greatly and force us to give the Mob more influence and power to calm them back into submission, back into the acceptance of their position in life."

'Father never mentioned any of this,' was his first thought, finding his mother's words hard to believe that the mob were that powerful even as his mother continued.

"The Mob wants your father's head on a platter," hand waving to the nearly full gallery above for emphasis, causing him to look at the growing mob above him with a sneer on his pale features. "And the Minister will give it to them because your father is a dark wizard, and he _did_ serve You-Know-Who as a Death Eater, an inner circle member of a group who terrorized the masses, who ruthlessly raped, tortured and murdered their loved ones during the war. If the Minister and the Ministry as a whole do not give them what they want then the Wizengamot's control over the country will be threatened. Before all this, your father's rumoured involvement in Death Eater actions could simply be ignored and brushed under the rug as simply rumours, of slander spread and devised by his many political enemies who wished to discredit him. The lack of any concrete and irrefutable evidence to back up such claims helped a great deal. Of course, a great deal of gold changed hands too over the years, to help ensure that the rug was never looked under all that closely or any evidence found. This was possible because after the war's abrupt ending the political balance of power was in your father's and his allies' favour, powerful men who also wanted it all swept under the rug, and the opposition in the Wizengamot had been severely weakened by that point and were afraid that if they tried to force the issue, the war would continue on. By that point they were also tired of war and merely wanted it to end. So an under the table deal was forged, they supported the ridiculous Imperius defence and we in turn donated huge amounts of gold to the Ministry to be used towards reconstruction efforts, and thus they were publically cleared of all charges," he nodded to show that he was still listening.

"Naturally, there had to be someone to blame, and confirmed and unrepentant death eaters who wouldn't forsake their dead master, such as my sister, were sold out by their former comrades to save themselves," she explained in a bitter tone. He realized in that moment that history was repeating itself, that the same was happening now, that his father was being sacrificed by his former comrades to maintain the status quo and keep their freedom. "That deal was maintained for the last decade."

"Wait a minute, you said that father had the advantage and that the Ministry was weak, so why didn't he just fight on when he was winning?" he interrupted, wondering why his father had agreed to such terms.

His mother smiled; it was an amused smile. "Yes, the Ministry was weak and hopelessly infiltrated at all levels, and the general population was tired and war weary, but the Chief Warlock moved very quickly after You-Know-Who's death to rally fresh support, almost like he was forewarned it would happen and had prepared ahead of time. This caused several of the Dark Lord's most valuable allies to break away, like the giants and the werewolves and the vampires. Granted, most death eaters were happy to see such foul creatures go, but it weakened them as well. At the same time your father's comrades were unsure and divided. Some believed that the dark lord would soon return and thus they wanted to wait, others, the more ambitious members attempted to seize control in various bloody ways during the chaos, many others simply fled the country; the bottom line was that the slapped together leadership, such as it was, was utterly divided as to what to do next," she explained as he nodded again, enjoying the subject since he had never heard of the war from his father or godfather.

"You also have to understand that the Chief Warlock would always face off against You-Know-Who in an epic duel in each engagement, both leaders keeping the other busy while their respective group of followers decided the battle. With You-Know-Who gone, Dumbledore would now be free to assist his own allies in battle and would have easily turned any battle in his side's favour, despite only using non-lethal spells. You have to remember that a lot of people joined You-Know-Who's side not because of their belief in the cause, but due to the simple fact that we were winning, and they wanted to be on the winning side when the dust settled, and frankly also out of the belief that by siding with You-Who-Who that they and their families would be safe. In terms of picking a side, if you lost a battle as a death eater, nine times out of ten you were only captured. If you lost a battle as a member of Dumbledore's group, you were likely killed in various horrible ways. With You-Know-Who dead and gone, this large group of half-hearted, reluctant supporters immediately broke away," she lectured, her tone almost suggesting she had been involved herself, but he knew that his mother had never taken the dark lord's mark, unlike his father.

"Given enough time, the Chief Warlock would have turned the tables in his favour if the war had continued on, resulting in far worse bargaining position for your father and his allies to negotiate from, or they would all have been eventually completely subdued and imprisoned, our families ruined for all time. Your father realized this and decided to make peace whilst he still had the advantage and still had some small amount of influence and control over You-Know-Who's now leaderless followers. He knew that after a few defeats, even that would have ended. The Chief Warlock was willing to accept this because his own followers, whilst hopeful in their eventual victory, were also weary," she explained.

"Then there was also you to consider. Your father wanted to be free to raise you, not to be locked up in Azkaban for the rest of his life, which gave your father another reason to negotiate for peace," he nodded again, his mind swirling with numerous questions. "Hence a balance of power was achieved after the war and two political factions emerged in the Wizengamot with your father and Chief Warlock and their respective supporters facing off against each other, with neither side having an advantage. But that all changed with your father losing both the Black and Lestrange family votes and their respective vaults this past summer. With your father so politically weakened, several neutral households who had previously, _grudgingly, _supported the Chief Warlock to counter your father's power and influence, changed their political position back to a truly more neutral stance, like they had long had before the war to pursue their own political goals, now under the leadership of Lord Greengrass and Lord Black whose star was on the rise. This, in turn, meant that Lords who had sided with your father to counter the Chief Warlock's own political goals followed suit, causing a domino effect, creating several newly reformed political factions over the last couple of months. No longer is there a consolidation of power in only two factions, the light and dark magic supporters. This exodus to the middle, to a more neutral political position, was also encouraged when the Chief Warlock's faction lost the Potter family vote. Now neither side has the necessary support to force through any legislation without the support from several neutral factions, which means bargains have to be made, and legislation has to be far more moderate to win support. The next few years should be interesting, as the neutrals are comprised of both traditionally light and dark families. Our very definition of what those two things mean, in terms of magic, may even change over time."

"But now everyone knows what your father did thanks to those Prophet articles, and it can no longer be hidden away beneath the rug. People want someone to hate, someone to blame for the many years that You-Know-Who terrorized them, they want someone to be the bad guy, someone to pay for what happened to them, and who better than someone as high ranking as the aloof and powerful Lord Malfoy?" she asked him, whilst he wondered if she expected an answer from him.

"The Minister will gleefully give them your father's head because it saves his own hide, and it will keep the mob in check. Otherwise, the Minister will be thrown out of office due to corruption charges, or even worse, sent to Azkaban to waste away and die in a cold, filthy cell. Every Slytherin for themselves is the game now, and Cornelius is smart enough to recognise a sinking ship when he sees one," she said humourlessly. "Many Lords and Ladies will vote against your father just because it will keep the Mob happy and in check. Others will because your father was their enemy, or because they considered your father a rival that they can now safety destroy without fear of retaliation. Others, like your father's former allies, will sacrifice him because it might sate the public's hunger and allow them to avoid the same fate," his mother's words causing him to scowl at the mention of his father's allies betraying him, which in turn reminded him that his own friends had abandoned him.

"Traitors," he spat hatefully.

"Your father did not get the power he had by playing nice with others Draco," she scolded. "He made a lot more enemies than he did friends, even amongst his allies. Keep in mind even his allies were mostly there due to necessity, rather than any real loyalty to him personally, it was more for the protection that can only be had in numbers. In fact he kept incriminating files and evidence on all of his allies, so that he could either blackmail them into staying in line or destroy them if need be, so that they could never become a threat. A safeguard in times of crisis."

"Couldn't we use these files to blackmail them into supporting us," he asked, seeing a possible way to save his father from his unjust fate.

"We could, perhaps, if we even knew where your father stored them," his mother answered, causing his rising hope to come crashing down. "But that would be a very dangerous game, if you get my meaning Draco." He nodded solemnly, understanding what his mother was saying.

"Of course, they don't know that I don't know where the files were stored, so I made a deal with them. They won't move against me or you, and I won't have to use the 'files' against them. The threat that the files would be released in the events of our untimely deaths has further prevented them from simply killing us and being done it," his mother explained, with a hint of smirk on her features.

His respect for his mother went up a notch after hearing his mother's bluff, causing him to look around the courtroom once again whilst wondering which notable figures his mother had made an agreement with to secure their safety. "Is there nothing we can do to help father?"

"Your father is nothing more than a scapegoat now, a sacrificial lamb. No Draco, there is nothing we can do for your father, but we can and must protect this family, to ensure that it's not destroyed today for all time. That was what your father would have wanted, why he took his own memories, so that the Malfoy name could endure to fight another day," she said, in an ice cold, emotionless tone.

He was taken aback by his mother's words, first because his mother had never shown such political insight before, second because his mother's words lacked any sort of feeling towards his father, and finally, because it seemed like his mother had already accepted defeat. He knew his mother and father's marriage had been arranged by their respective parents, but he had always thought there was some semblance of love that existed between them, as they always had a happy face on around the manor. "Don't talk like that Mother," he commanded in disbelief, not willing to believe or accept his mother's words that would doom his father.

"It's the truth. There is no point in denying it now; far better to accept it and make the best of it. Denial will get us nothing," she remarked coldly.

"Then what's the point of the trial then? If father is just going to be found guilty anyways? Why don't they just throw him in Azkaban and be done with it?!" he countered angrily.

"For the Ministry this is just a big show, a drama for the masses to gorge themselves on. Madam Bones has all the evidence she needs to utterly destroy your father a dozen times over, though it certainly took her long enough. She's been after your father with a vengeance for years, ever since the war ended," she stated humourlessly. "For us Draco, this trial is only about damage control, to minimize the political and financial damage done to this house and a chance to defend our own names; a chance to make us less guilty by association. The best possible outcome for this farce is that when it's all over there is actually something left so that you can rebuild the family name for your own heirs to inherit one day, and to ensure that your father is kept in the hospital, under medical care, rather than being given to the Dementors to feed upon."

Considering his mother's words, he was just about to reply before she cut him off. "I expect several grandchildren by the way; I want at least one girl that I can pamper and dress up," she offered with a genuine smile. His mother's words causing his cheeks to redden in embarrassment at the sudden change of subject, causing him to look back towards the courtroom to see the Chief Warlock enter the room by a small door at the back of the room. The old muggle loving fool took his seat on the raised platform reserved for the Chief Warlock, the Minister of Magic, and the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. The highest seat at the centre of the platform was for the Chief Warlock, the second to the left was meant for the Minister, and the third and lowest seat of the trio was meant for the Head of Law Enforcement, easily recalling the lessons his godfather had drilled into him in preparation for today's trial.

Thinking of his father once again and of his father's state of mind, his anger boiled over again at the injustices that had befallen upon the man he so looked up to, who taught him how to be a Malfoy, how to be a man. It was so _wrong _that his father had to stand trial for standing up for their traditional values, for their way of life, for wanting to remove the muggle filth from Hogwarts. He never once considered the fact that his father was standing trial because he had tried to murder several people, some of which were his classmates, nor put the entire school in danger, nor the fact that an auror was dead because of one of those attempts.

**o_ooo000ooo_o**

He smiled proudly to himself as he watched Minister Fudge and his handful of attendants leave, or 'Cornelius' as the minister liked to be called by his 'very dear' friends, his initial impression about the career politician once again confirmed after the short exchange. He turned to face his godfather, "That was interesting, it looks like Cornelius is shopping for a new financial backer," he offered aloud to his godfather who nodded in agreement, whilst retaking his seat besides the thoughtful dog animagus. "Looks like someone's unhappy," he offered, subtly pointing out Draco and the boy's mother, Lady Malfoy, who was sitting across from him and Sirius. The former Black family member, who had been cast out for all time, was sitting proudly by her son, with a familiar 'I'm better than you expression on her beautiful face,' whilst Draco was staring at him with hateful eyes.

"Maybe you should wave a cheery hello to them," Sirius suggested with a doggish smile, causing him to grin and laugh at the idea of baiting Draco so publically. He did restrain himself from acting on the childish suggestion though. Today he was Lord Potter-Peverell, heir to the Black family, not a childish 12 year old child acting out.

"Maybe," he offered back with a smile, but knowing he wouldn't. He spotted his pet reporter down in the reporters' box, seeing her brought to mind their discussion the night before. "Rita looks rather appealing today," his innocent, but probing words causing his godfather to check out the reporter in question with an appraising eye, hoping his godfather wouldn't make any crude sexual remarks in public.

"Right you are there pup," Sirius agreed, his grin growing bigger as he looked at Harry. "So little Harry is finally starting to notice the opposite sex; I was starting to get worried about you pup," Sirius teased in a playful tone, as he felt his cheeks redden, before he stopped the physical reaction with his iron will.

"I've been able to notice the opposite sex for a while now Sirius, but only now am I starting to understand and appreciate the meaning behind the word _sexy_, and just how visually appealing the female body can be," he stated flatly.

"Ahh, you're finally growing up then Harry," the familiar voice of his elder cousin teased from behind him, causing him to turn to see Tonks and her family standing behind them.

He smiled fondly at them, standing up to give her a tight, lingering hug. "How's Hogwarts?" he asked her, not yet letting her go.

"Not bad. Thanks for getting me out of school for the day," she answered with a smile, returning the hug.

"It was your mother's idea, so that we could display a unified front as a family," he explained, before releasing her and retaking his seat, while Sirius greeted Ted and Andy. "What's DADA like with Snape teaching it?"

**o_ooo000ooo_o**

He watched as the muggle loving fool rose from his seat to address the chamber, the chamber quieting quickly with the simple action of the Chief Warlock standing. "The trial of Lucius Malfoy, Lord of the Noble house of Malfoy, will begin in ten minutes time. Please be seated so that we can begin on time without any delays," the Chief Warlock declared with a soft half amused smile, before retaking his seat as their family lawyers approached.

The most senior of the two lawyer's wand appeared in hand, before casting an advanced privacy charm around them to block out any potential eavesdroppers. "Lady Malfoy, we will go with our planned defence," the aged lawyer said, "but as we discussed yesterday, I don't expect it will work given that your husband's current medical condition can be seen as self-inflicted to avoid justice, and resulted from resisting arrest. It will only delay the trial's progress, maybe a couple of hours, maybe a day at most, if we are lucky," his mother nodded in understanding. "I'd once again like to point out that this delaying tactic might cause some resentment and anger amongst the judges towards us, which in turn might turn the court against you for time wasting, which could come back to haunt us later on."

His mother nodded, "Proceed as we have discussed Mr. Eddings. Remember that this is all about damage control, to ensure the family's standing and name remains. It must be made abundantly clear that all this was solely Lucius' doing, and not mine or Draco's. We need to make the court understand this if we are to survive," his mother stressed. "The Malfoy family fortune and name must stay intact for Draco to inherit when he comes of age."

"Yes Madam, I know your wishes," Mr. Eddings replied, before cancelling the privacy charm and then returning to the courtroom floor with his assistant in tow.

Turning to his thoughtful mother, he posed a question on his mind. "Is Mr. Eddings any good?" he probed, wanting to know more about the man responsible for defending his father and their family name.

"He is competent and has a good court record; Severus found him for us," she replied. He broke down his mother's answer; 'competent' certainly did not mean that their lawyer was the best around, far from it in fact. It meant the man defending his father's life was average and that Mr. Eddings was at least professional and knew his stuff. If his godfather thought the man was capable, that was something positive in the lawyer's favour since his godfather considered most people idiots, or worse.

"So he isn't the best around then? There are better lawyers around we could have hired?" he pushed, wanting to know why his mother hadn't gotten the very best lawyer possible to defend his father.

His mother clearly knew where his questioning was going and quickly cast another privacy bubble charm around them, as a dome of visible light covered them from view. "Draco, the Ministry froze the Malfoy vaults because your father is under investigation for tax evasion. The only bank vault we currently have access to at the moment is my private one, thanks to a petition I submitted to the Ministry with the help of Severus, meaning our financial resources are rather limited at the moment," she explained. "Your father, in his infinite wisdom, never told me where he had the other 'unofficial' gold deposits hidden in case of emergencies like this, gold that was untraceable which could be used for bribes and in situations like this where the Ministry froze our normal accounts or the Goblins rebelled," her tone bitter, clearly unhappy about his father not trusting her with such important information.

But then again, his mother did have extremely rich tastes, and never wore the same outfit twice; which meant his father was probably concerned she would raid all the unofficial funds to fuel her shopping addiction. Of course, he said nothing of this and just quietly listened to his mother. "We have to be very careful with the gold we spend now, especially since we don't know how large the ministry fines are going to be. The last thing we need is to fall into debt with the goblins," she argued as he nodded, having no desire to work in the goblin mines for the rest of his life. "Mr. Eddings is quite simply the best we can_ afford_ to defend your father and the family at this time, and is one of few lawyers around actually willing to take on the case. No lawyer wants to take on a case that they are almost certain to lose, which undermines their win to loss ratio," he nodded again in understanding. He was finding there was quite a bit of settling and bad luck to go around in this situation.

"Why did he agree then? What does he gain by representing us?" he asked, trying to work out what the lawyer gained.

"Mr. Eddings runs a small firm, almost unknown, so even if we lose the case, he will gain a measure of prestige and publicity by finally representing a 'big' client. That means new work, even if he loses. If he wins, however, he is looking at a lot of prestige and even more new business," she answered back.

Looking back down at the courtroom floor, he examined the lawyer who was busy looking over his paperwork with mixed feelings; his mind turning back to the subject of gold. "How much do we have left?" he asked, not really sure if he wanted to know the answer or not.

"Less than twenty thousand galleons. Hopefully it will be enough until the Malfoy family vaults are reopened to us, even then, your father limited the size of withdrawals I can make," she explained carefully. "With him still being alive, he is officially still the head of the family, despite his mental condition preventing him from fulfilling the role, which means he'll still officially control the purse strings of the family. That can't be challenged until you are 17 and can claim the position for yourself given the extenuating circumstances. Until then we need to closely watch our spending. If things get really bad, I could always approach my former family, but I doubt they will offer any aid as long as I carry your father's name," his mother's words causing him to snarl in disgust at the very idea of being forced to go and beg anything of the Lord Black.

"Did father not _trust_ you?" he asked without thinking, wondering if he should even trust his mother if his father didn't. His ridiculously blunt, un-Slytherin words caused his mother to stiffen visibly at the question, before giving him a very, very cold look, a look he recognised as a bad sign.

He immediately realized that he had touched upon a raw nerve with his mother, but before he could backtrack and apologize profusely his mother spoke, her tone sounding like ice and sharp steel mixed as one. "Your father was a rather distrustful individual; he trusted _no one_, not even me, despite the fact that I stood loyally by his side for so many years without complaint. Maybe the better word would even be 'paranoid' to describe your father's attitude to the world; he was always looking for the slightest sign of betrayal, jumping at shadows," she answered, her tone bitter and angry at the end, but also a touch amused. "He was always worried he would be stabbed in the back. It's rather amusing that given all the incredibly dangerous people he dealt with on a daily basis, it was timid little Peter Pettigrew that set him up and brought him down in the end. It's always the ones you underestimate that get you in the end Draco, remember that. And don't ever trust a rat either."

He just nodded, since he had nothing productive to add to the subject. He decided to ask another blunt question that had been on his mind. "Did you even love father?" he asked, as his mother just looked at him, clearly debating what to share with him as he held his breath, hoping the answer was an unequivocal 'yes.'

"Do you really want to know? It will change how you see me and your father," she asked in return.

He paused for a moment, "Yes, I do," he answered, wanting to know the truth of the matter.

"I did love him, at least at first, despite it being an arranged marriage by our parents," she answered with a sad smile. "Well, I thought I did, he was so charming and cunning, a wizard with a quickly growing power and influence and reputation. He was like my prince and along he came to sweep me off my feet." He nodded, thankful that his mother was keeping out the more personal details of their courtship. "But that quickly faded away into nothing, and that young love was washed away," she finished with a regretful sigh.

"What happened?" he blurted out, wanting to know why his mother didn't love his father any longer.

"Many things, many small things that added up," she stated vaguely, avoiding the question in a way that was so typical of someone who had been a member of Slytherin house.

"Mother, I want to know," he pushed, wanting to know more about his mother and father who he always thought loved each other, at least until a few moments ago.

She sighed, "The first thing, and the most damning, was when I came to realize that he did not in fact love me. I was merely a means to an end, the way he'd have a pureblood heir, a successor to ensure that his family name continued on long after he was gone. He didn't share or ask me for advice with his schemes, nor did he trust me. He wanted a pretty trophy wife to look good on his arm when he attended parties and climbed the political ladder, never a true partner. But we did make a deal. He would treat me with respect and ensure that I had everything I could ever desire in life, and I, in turn, would play my part in his grand schemes as his prefect pureblood wife." He nodded again. "We did have some problems, and several miscarriages that damaged the relationship between us that always ended in your father blaming me and me blaming him."

"Then we finally had you and things got better for us, because we both loved you," she smiled fondly at the memory before her mask was back in place. "And that love for you was something we could share, something that gave us a common goal and purpose. We both wanted what was best for you, and that gave us a common ground to build our marriage around. It also helped that there was no longer a dark lord around anymore calling him away all the time to complete tasks for him. I swear, your father seemed to love the dark lord more than he loved me at times. In the end our marriage became just like most other arranged marriages in the end, we both played our own part in public, love was replaced with contentment. I was married to the most powerful man in the country. I had money, position, comfort and a son to raise, and he had the perfect wife and son he always desired to inherit his throne."

He wanted to say something, but his tongue froze in his mouth, preventing him from saying anything as his mind absorbed and digested his mother's explanation which explained so much, and why he had no younger sibling.

"I admit, I would have liked it if he saw me more as an equal partner in our marriage, but that just didn't happen despite my best efforts to make it happen. He just didn't trust anyone, not even me… I personally blame the darks arts myself, they twist and corrupt one's emotions, corrupting the caster to the point where they just aren't capable of feeling love and affection and kindness anymore," she stated, her mask fully restored.

"Father wanted to teach me the dark arts," he said at last, finally finding his words again.

"I would have tried to discourage him from that idea," she replied evenly. "When the dark arts are overused they can twist and corrupt your personality beyond repair. They can also rob you of your fertility as well, but your father would never acknowledge that fact. My sister Bella is an example of what can happen from over usage. She is a nut case now, totally insane, and the dementors have probably made her even worse. It really is a shame; she was such a nice girl, beautiful and kind, intelligent and powerful."

He nodded, not sure what to add, or how to reply to his mother's remarks as he looked out over the quieting courtroom, trying to work out if he felt any different about his father.

"If you had gotten married to Miss Parkinson like your father intended, you might have been lucky enough to actually fall in love with her someday, but in all likelihood you would have likely merely reached a compromise, an arrangement between the pair of you to ensure the marriage worked out, just like I did with your father and just like my mother did with my father," she explained. He nodded automatically again, not really paying attention anymore, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to listen to his mother's words.

The next couple of minutes passed by without any more words being exchanged between the two of them, his mother cancelling the privacy charm as he considered his parents' relationship and his own future. Turning back to face his mum, he was just about to ask another question when the doors leading to the Wizengamot chamber closed noisily and a blue energy barrier came from the grand wooden doors, sealing the room as the Chief Warlock stood up from his chair and called the chamber to silence.

"Please all be seated, the trial of Lord Malfoy will begin in a few moments," Hogwarts' former headmaster announced in a magically augmented voice, the large chamber falling silent and the last few people taking their seats. The aged wizard scanned the room, clearly making sure that everyone was seated before checking that all the required ministry officials were at their proper posts, as both the defence and prosecutor teams signalled that they were ready to begin the trial, before he turned to the Minister and Madam Bones who also nodded that they were ready to begin.

"The trial of Lord Malfoy shall now begin," Dumbledore declared, banging his gavel to emphasize the point. "Representing and conducting Lord Malfoy's legal defence on his behalf is his wife, Lady Narcissa Malfoy. Lord Malfoy has been declared medically unfit to represent himself due to permanent memory damage suffered from overexposure to a self-inflicted grade 1 memory charm whilst attempting to resist arrest by a team of aurors. It should be noted for the official record that Lady Malfoy is the closest family member capable of representing the accused, due to the fact that the direct male blood heir of the accused is not yet of age." His mother elegantly rose from her seat, the eyes of everyone in the chamber falling upon her.

"Lady Malfoy, do you hereby accept the legal responsibility for your incapacitated husband," he asked in a firm tone, showing no visible emotion.

"Yes, I do, Chief Warlock," his mother replied in a calm and level tone, showing no sign of nerves even as his own stomach did cartwheels, despite the fact that he had no active part to play in the trial. "I would also like to voice, for the record, that my husband's accused deeds were without my _knowledge_, and hereby voice my own innocence and that of my son's. And furthermore, that when I was questioned by the investigating aurors, that I was cleared of all charges and complicity in any of the charges." The Chief Warlock looked over to Madam Bones who shared a few quiet words before the Chief Warlock nodded in acquiescence.

"It shall be noted for the record that when questioned by the Ministry Aurors, Lady Malfoy, under truth serum, proved that she knew nothing of her husband's accused crimes," the Chief Warlock voiced aloud to the chamber. Madam Bones stood up and also confirmed the statement was correct for the record. "Lady Malfoy, would you please confirm that you have appointed Mr. Eddings and his legal assistant, Mr. Potsworth, as your husband's legal defence team, to represent your husband on your behalf."

"Yes, I do, Chief Warlock, as I do not have the requisite legal knowledge, nor do I have the understanding to properly and competently represent my husband in this legal proceeding. I trust Mr. Eddings and his legal team will represent my husband to the best of their combined abilities," she voiced, as Mr. Eddings and his assistant stood up from behind their wooden desk. He watched as Dumbledore asked the pair of lawyers if they accepted responsibility for his father's legal defence throughout the trial, to which both men agreed. His mother then sat back down, her small part in the trial complete.

Dumbledore then stood up, gently smoothing his robes before addressing the chamber, "Due to the fact that I am one of the unfortunate victims in Lord Malfoy's alleged crimes, and I am also a witness to the events, I am required to give several pieces of evidence during this trial on behalf of the prosecution. I therefore must temporarily stand down from my position as Chief Warlock for the duration of this trial to avoid unfair bias." His hopes soared at this news; his father would be freed now for sure, now that his father's greatest enemy was no longer the head magistrate responsible for deciding court rulings. He happily looked to his mother who just gave him a shake of her head, her expression confusing him.

"By law, I now pass the responsibility of my prestigious office to the highest office in the land, the Minister of Magic." The old wizard then turned to face the Minister.

Cornelius then stood up to symbolically accept the offered seat that the Chief Warlock had just vacated, at the same time accepting the symbolic gavel that was passed to him. "I hereby accept the position and the responsibilities of this ancient position of justice, Chief Warlock," the Minister declared formally to the listening chamber, the court scribes and reporters' quills working quickly to record the change of legal authority. His hopes climbed ever higher at the idea the Minister would secretly aid his father, a smug smile forming on his face, despite his mother's earlier words that the Minister would sell him out to save his own skin. The Chief Warlock then left the box to take a free seat in the stands reserved for high ranking ministry officials.

There was a short pause before the Minister stood up to address the chamber, "Under the law of these lands and in the interest of justice, I also must relieve myself of the duties of this temporary office of justice due to my former close friendship with the accused to avoid the appearance of favouritism and basis," the Minister's words instantly caused his smile to disappear and his hope to come crashing down as he eyed Madam Bones warily. "I hereby remove myself from that authority for the duration of this trial," the Minister voiced, like he was reading from a pre-planned script. "I hereby pass the responsibilities of my temporary position to the next highest authority, the head of the office of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Amelia Bones." The Minister then turned to face Madam Bones, as the chamber started to stir again at the realization that the incorruptible Madam Bones would be heading the trial.

That meant one thing, his father was in trouble, _big_ trouble; Madam Bones had been after his father for years. A pit of anxiety formed in his gut, as the witch took the offered seat from the Minister, but chose not to engage in any type of flowery speech.

"Not good," he stated in a low tone, the Minister taking the seat next to the Chief Warlock, ready to watch from the sidelines.

"It's about to get worse," his mother offered, as Madam Bones stood up to address the chamber, the crowd stirring.

**o_ooo000ooo_o**

'So far so good,' Harry noted to himself, as the minister of magic stepped down from the podium, his trademark bowler hat holstered under his arm as Madam Bones stood up to address the chamber.

The stern no-nonsense witch was dressed in full Auror dress robes today, as he considered the idea that his older cousin could very well be doing the same job as Madam Bones in the years to come. "I also must relieve myself from this temporary office and the responsibility for overseeing justice, as I led the criminal investigation against Lord Malfoy," the head of law enforcement explained to the restless chamber, the Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot muttering amongst themselves, clearly wondering who would be Madam Bones' replacement.

She paused for a moment to allow the chamber to calm down; he noticed Dumbledore frown at this, clearly the old wizard had not expected the head of magical law enforcement to step down. "I must also pass on the responsibility for upholding justice during these proceedings to my second in command, Senior Auror Rufus Scrimgeour." An old stern faced wizard that reminded him of an old lion got up from his seat in the ministerial box and descended to the chamber floor in a fast, but purposeful march, causing the ambient mutterings of the chamber to get a good deal louder.

It was clear from the facial expressions on the Chief Warlock's and the Minister's faces that they hadn't been made aware of Madam Bones' intention to stand down, rather than overseeing the trial herself. The stern faced auror in full dress uniform took the offered seat from his boss, who then stepped down and joined the team of prosecutors on the courtroom floor, once again surprising the chamber.

Turning his attention back to Rufus Scrimgeour, he mentally named the man, 'old lion.' He had never met the senior auror personally, but that was nothing new, but from everything he had heard from Sirius and Madam Bones he knew that this man was to be respected for his ability with his wand, and for the leadership and courage the man had shown during the war. The simple fact was that the man was both capable and professional.

After all, Madam Bones wasn't the type of person to promote someone based on personal contacts and friends over personal ability. He also knew Scrimgeour himself had suffered several family loses during the war to the Death Eaters, and had had a long career mercilessly hunting down dark wizards for the Ministry, in fact Scrimgeour was only second to the famous Mad-Eye Moody in his passion for justice. "I bet no one saw that coming," he voiced to his godfather with a smirk.

"Madam Bones' idea most likely, never knew she could be so sneaky," Sirius offered with a grin as the courtroom settled again, after realizing that the game of musical chairs was finally over.

The Chief Warlock then stood up, Scrimgeour acknowledging the old wizard thus granting him his permission to address the floor. "Senior Auror Scrimgeour, I recall that your own son was killed by several death eaters during Lord Voldemort's initial rise to power," the court room collectively flinched at the use of the Dark Lord's real name. "Do you believe that you can uphold the responsibilities of the office you are holding for these proceedings without any personal basis against the accused," the Chief Warlock asked gently, but the chamber and audience above heard every word.

"Chief Warlock, that was over a decade ago and I have made my peace with it," Scrimgeour replied in a calm, but firm tone, which reminded him of polished granite. "I highly doubt that you could find anyone of sufficient rank and knowledge to fulfil the duties of this office that doesn't have some type of personal bias or personal experience relating to the criminal terrorist group known as the Death Eaters. I would also remind you and this audience that I have served the law and the Ministry to the utmost of my ability for over four decades. I have no personal knowledge of this case nor had any involvement in Madam Bones' investigation, nor do I have any type of personal relationship with either the victims or the accused," Scrimgeour added, but it was more than likely meant more for the benefit of the chamber at large, than the Chief Warlock.

"Therefore I am as unbiased as can be realistically expected in this matter of justice. I'll uphold the law as it is written, no more and no less. Now, are there any other objections?" the Senior Auror asked the chamber. Scrimgeour's impromptu speech nicely brushed aside any arguments against his appointment whilst also stating why he was the best candidate available to fill the position. There was some light muttering amongst the chamber, but the crowd seemed to approve.

It was clear that some of the Wizengamot Lords and Ladies felt otherwise, but weren't willing to publically oppose the man with the mob against them. Scrimgeour then surprised him further by taking the initiative by going on the attack whilst he had the advantage. "Shall we call a vote on the matter? Since it is clear by your whispering that some of you disagree with my appointment, but are unwilling to publicly voice that opposition," Scrimgeour spoke calmly, but clearly, the room falling silent at his bold move.

It was then that he saw what Scrimgeour was cleverly doing; he was forcing people who might otherwise object to his appointment to publically reveal themselves in front of the mob watching above. It was a sound tactic, with a vote of the entire Wizengamot on the matter, his appointment later on would be unassailable. "All against my appointment to the role of Chief Warlock for the duration of this trial, please stand and be counted," he called out, but no one stood even after several moments pause, many clearly unwilling to single themselves out in front of the mob.

"All those in favour?" Scrimgeour barked from the podium, carrying on with the vote without pause.

If no one had reacted or acknowledged Scrimgeour's authority, the unofficial vote could have been dismissed as the auror overstepping his temporary position of authority, but the effect was instantaneous, as almost a quarter of the courtroom stood up, including both him and Sirius. He looked over to see Lord Greengrass also standing, along with the aging Lady Longbottom, as more and more Lords and Ladies were forced to their feet rather than risk being labelled a Death Eater sympathiser by the audience above. Even the Minister of Magic and the Chief Warlock reluctantly got to their feet, clearly understanding that this fight was truly lost, and didn't want to be seen going against the will of so many Lords and Ladies.

Surprisingly, even Lady Malfoy got to her feet in agreement. Draco's mother clearly understood that despite her vote not being counted for the duration of this trial, it was best to publically show her support for justice, rather than stay sitting and risk being singled out.

"Motion carried," Scrimgeour stated calmly, with a hint of smugness at his well played victory. "Please be seated," he commanded, everyone then retaking their seats.

Retaking his own seat, he turned to his godfather, "That was rather anachronistic; I didn't expect we would have to physically stand for a vote," he stated, disguising his question as an observation.

Sirius smiled, "We used to cast votes that way for centuries, and many traditionalists still want to, but it was realized after a while that the voting system we used could easily be rigged with a couple of well placed _confundus_ charms or even something as simple as purposefully miscounting the standing/sitting members, etc. I think Scrimgeour chose that method to ensure that the crowd saw how everyone voted. It also prevented certain parties from claiming that they put their wand in the wrong voting slot," the former Auror explained amusedly, as he pointed out the two holes in the wooden post by both of their seats, labelled 'aye' and 'nay.' Harry nodded in understanding. "It's easier and simpler just to use the wand method, rather than standing and sitting most of the time. Just a bit of common sense really. Voting this way also ensures that the votes are tallied magically and records kept as to how each family voted on each law."

"That's rather surprising, most wizards I have encountered lack that type of common sense," he replied, before turning his attention back to the floor as his godfather looked at him in amusement.

**Midnight Gold**

'Not long now. Lucius' trial will be starting soon,' Peter thought to himself, causing him to check the train clock to see that it was fast approaching eleven o'clock, the appointed start time of the highly publicized trial. 'Finally, I'll be able to do some good, if they don't kill me first,' he thought darkly to himself, his heart starting to beat faster and faster at the thought, to the point it felt like his heart was going to explode in his chest.

He knew how his former dark comrades dealt with traitors, how they would deal with him if they got a hold of him, but he pushed his fears to the side and instead tried to keep calm as he neared ever closer to his moment of judgement and hopefully redemption in the eyes of the world. He really liked the idea of having a single moment of well-earned glory, a chance to set the record straight, to do some good.

He felt the dark mark angrily pulse on his left arm, a shiver of pain that reminded him of what he had done, of his crimes, of the people he had betrayed in the quest for power. A part of him wondered what would happen to him the moment he betrayed his lord by denouncing the dark lord in open court. How would the magical vow he had taken over a decade ago react? Would he die instantly, right there on the stand? Or would it be a slow, agonizing death?

'A slow agonizing death,' another part of him answered fearfully, knowing that would be just how the dark lord would like it, to send a message, the rat instincts inside him telling him to run.

'A griffindor is _brave_, fearless,' he recited calmly to himself, taking courage in the words his dead mother once spoke to him decades ago in preparation for boarding the Hogwarts Express, his tired mind turning back to his happy childhood to hold together his remaining resolve.

'How did I fall so far?' he asked himself, wondering what had happened to cause him to fall so far as to betray his childhood friends, his brothers in all but blood. Looking down at his hands, it was like he could almost see their blood upon them. He looked away from them in shame, causing him to look into the train carriage's window only to see his polyjuice created face looking back at him in the darkness.

Despite the face staring back at him not being his own, overwhelming guilt and sadness were plain on his exotic features. As he considered his fate, he wondered what his ancestors thought of him now. His inner rat voice got louder as the train rumbled, telling him to run and hide, to run back to the safe house that Dumbledore had provided for him in Italy and wait for the old wizard to return. But he was so tired of running, of always hiding, tired of serving others at the cost of his own happiness, of always having to be on guard, of always having to look over his shoulder looking for any sign of the bounty hunters and aurors that hunted him, of always having to use polyjuice whenever he dared to walk amongst other magicals, since he lacked the skill to use a glamour charm.

It was at that moment that the train left the channel tunnel and darkness gave way to daylight, allowing him to see the familiar scenery of his country of birth. The many mismatched green trees and bushes that lined the train tracks were a welcoming sight after almost a month overseas in the dry heat of southern Italy. Italy had been a fine country, with wonderful weather if you didn't mind the dry heat and the sun, but at the end of the day, it still wasn't home. He didn't understand their tongue, nor their odd customs, and their food was far too exotic for his taste, and at the end of the day he was an outsider, a stranger, and it seemed they all knew it somehow despite his best efforts to blend in and appear as one of them.

"The train will be arriving in London in 15 minutes time, please make sure you take all your personal belongings with you at that time," a feminine voice announced over the train's speakers, before shifting to French and making a similar announcement, causing his heart to start pumping in overtime as he felt a panic attack coming on.

Reaching into his coat pocket, his hands shook violently as he felt the curious eyes of several other passengers resting upon him. He pulled out a small vial of clear, sky blue liquid, before uncorking the bottle whilst ignoring their combined stares and quickly downed the calming potion. The potion's effects were instantaneous; a relaxing wave of calm washed over him, his hands stopped shaking, his heart calmed down by a noticeable amount and his breathing eased.

It was at that point that he remembered the group of curious muggles watching him intently, several of them eyeing the now empty vial. "Medicine for my heart, got a bad ticker," he offered to the watching group, his reason being easily accepted as they turned their attention away from him and back to their own business. He sighed in relief that his excuse had been accepted, this saved him from having to memory charm them, which would have likely caused other problems given his lack of skill with the spell. He allowed himself to sink back into his seat again and closed his eyes for a few moments.

A few minutes later he felt the train begin to slow down, his animal senses feeling the brakes being applied beneath him. 'Keep it together. Soon you will redeem yourself as a Griffindor and do some good for once,' he recited to himself, but felt no emotion or excitement at the thought on account of the potent potion he had taken. The muggle train gently pulled into the station without fanfare, the passengers around him standing up and collecting their belongings. He made to follow them, rather than stand out by walking alone. There was anonymity in being a part of a group.

That was something that he had learned well over the years in hiding; single people stood out far more than groups did. By simply stepping in time with a group he would appear uninteresting, non-threatening, thus meeting unconscious expectations, especially if the group he joined made no fuss about him. There was also the fact that the calming draught he had taken ensured that he would be calm and collected, rather than nervous and jumpy looking, which would again draw the attention of the border guards looking for any questionable travellers. He continued with the group for a few minutes more until he spotted a spot shrouded in shadow, a place he could use to apparate away. He would have preferred to use a port-key or the floo, since his first experience with apparition had resulted in him leaving his arm behind, but neither option was available within the muggle station. Resigning himself to apparition, he focused his mind on his desired destination.

Thankfully, due to the calming potion he had just taken, it proved far easier to focus on where he desired to go than it normally would have been. He pulled and twisted his magic around him to encase him in a protective cocoon of magic, before he _popped_, darkness engulfing him for a few moments before he reappeared in an alleyway just outside the Leaky Cauldron, just as he desired.

After a few moments hesitation, he entered the pub. 'No turning back now,' he noted to himself, whilst he walked over to the bar to see good ol' Tom cleaning the bar top, several newspapers on a nearby stand resting on the bar. "Good morning Tom, how are the kids?" he greeted in a friendly manner, like they were old friends.

"Err, do I know you sir? I don't believe we have met before," Tom the barmen asked confused.

"I'm currently using polyjuice potion," he answered, as he took a seat on a nearby barstool and made himself comfortable. "Would you be so kind as to call the aurors for me? I wish to turn myself in. Can I get a full English breakfast while I wait though? It's been far too long since I had proper English food," he explained as the barman blinked in confusion.

**Midnight Gold**

"Lord Lucius Malfoy stands accused of high treason against the state, of multiple counts of murder in the service of the Dark Lord known as..." Scrimgeour paused at that point, before forcing himself to use the dark lord's name, "Voldemort." The entire courtroom collectively flinched at the use of the name, causing Harry to roll his eyes at their ridiculous behaviour. The dark lord had been dead for ten plus years now, but they still feared the very name of the man that was now just another name in the history books, a harmless memory. "Conspiracy to commit the murder of Harry James Potter, heir to both the Noble and Most Ancient houses of Potter and Black, illegal possession of Grade 5 cursed dark arts objects, tax evasion, and the masterminding of the attacks that occurred at Hogwarts this past year and on her students," Scrimgeour listed calmly, reading the accused's alleged crimes to the chamber and the audience above from a symbolic scroll. "How do you plead?"

Mr. Cullen Eddings stood up from behind his table to address the courtroom, "On behalf of the defendant, we plead guilty to the charges of tax evasion and possession of cursed dark arts object, however, we plead not guilty on all other charges." A murmur ran through the crowd at this, quickly growing louder, but it was now time for him to play his own part in this little drama. He elegantly stood up from his chair, the action grabbing the courtroom's attention, gradually silencing the increasingly noisy crowd.

Scrimgeour gave him a curious look, "Is there something you wish to say Mr. Potter?" the acting Chief Warlock asked.

He forced a calm smile on his face, through sheer force of will clamping down with an iron grip on his nerves, as he addressed the entire courtroom for the first time, "I am afraid there has been a mistake in the charges being brought against Lord Malfoy that needs correcting, if we want to ensure that proper justice is done acting Chief Warlock_. _You see at the time of the first attempt on my life, I wasn't the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient house of Potter, I was already invested as the _Lord_ Potter." His words caused another round of whispers to run through the courtroom. "Therefore, as accused, Lord Malfoy attempted to assassinate the Lord of a Noble and Most Ancient house. This correction to the list of charges is relevant as under the law this carries far greater penalties, especially given the status of my house as one of the founding families of the Wizengamot and the modern British Ministry of Magic, a family that Lord Malfoy's actions nearly made extinct."

"Preposterous! A mere child can't become the lord of their family!" an unknown woman proclaimed loudly, getting several murmurs in agreement.

He turned his burning gaze to the general area of the courtroom where the voice had come from. He had expected such a response, in fact he had counted on it; it was only a shame that he couldn't call the individual out and ensure that they were paid back accordingly in the days to come. "Actually, I can, under the Last Blood Heir Act of 1436. That law allows me as the last heir of the Potter family to take up the Lordship of my family even before my 17th birthday if I desired to. I'm certain one of the of the law readers of the court can confirm this officially," he responded calmly, gesturing towards the three 'wise men' suddenly going through their beloved books, but at virtually a snail's pace. "The record keepers should also have an official record of my ascension to the position of Lord Potter." This caused the official record keepers to leap into action, but unlike the law wizards they actually had a bit of pep in their movements. Some of that might have been because they were collectively at least 50 years younger on average then the law readers.

The entire courtroom turned its collective attention to the three old wizards, who seemed to be immune to the stares and the silent calls for them to hasten their search through the law books. "Well, what's the ruling?" Scrimgeour asked, growling impatiently. The growl did nothing whatsoever to hurry the trio up; in fact it only caused the tension slowly building up in the courtroom to ratchet up another degree. There was a collective silent sweat drop when one of the ancient wizards slowly began to clean his spectacles, whilst a long bony finger of another slowly ran down the ancient parchment of the self-updating book of laws.

It was the record keepers who finished their appointed task first. He watched as the most senior of the record keepers snatched a piece of yellow parchment out of the younger man's hands before addressing the courtroom. "Sir, the records office can confirm that Lord Harry James Potter ascended to the position of Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Potter this last summer. At the same time, he granted Lord Black proxy powers for the Potter family's hereditary seat, along with the proxy power for the Peverell family seat as well." The senior record keeper quickly finished, causing another murmur to run through the courtroom at the confirmation of the Potter lordship and this unexpected bit with the Peverell family, which had long been thought extinct. Once finished the record keeper left his corner box to hand the official piece of parchment to Scrimgeour, who quickly snatched it and began to examine it closely.

Several seconds passed in tense silence before the old lion spoke to the chamber again. "It is official; Harry James Potter is indeed the Lord Potter, head of the ancient and noble house of Potter." Scrimgeour's confirmation caused the whispering voices to grow louder.

He smiled, rather enjoying being the centre of attention and the upheaval he had caused before turning his attention to face his former magical guardian, "Did I fail to mention that I am also Lord Peverell? Head of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Peverell, and have been since my 11th birthday?" he asked, the murmurs getting louder as the Lord and Ladies around the courtroom started to talk openly amongst themselves at this latest sensational twist, with the resurfacing of the old house that many believed to be long dead.

It was at that thought that one of the old law readers spoke up, "Here it is," the old wizard declared with a satisfied tone, whilst playing with his half-moon style spectacles. "The Last Blood Heir Act of 1436," his words barely audible over the noise of several hundred people talking at the same time, but perfectly audible to his own.

"Silence!" Scrimgeour bellowed loudly to no noticeable effect, obviously trying to reassert control over the courtroom so that the old law reader could finish his report. "Silence!"

**End of Chapter**


End file.
